Theodore Tugboat: Skylar the Valorous
by FunStorytimeStudios
Summary: The tugs of the Big Harbor befriend a new safety tug who has come to help Foduck with patrols. But this tug isn't what she appears to be and she tries to start anew while struggling to hide the pain that follows her from her old harbor. Theodore Tugboat and characters belong to PBS and original creator. Skylar belongs to me.
1. Prologue: Bad Memories

**Theodore and the New Tugboat**

Prologue

The sun was just starting to set over the Big Harbor. Theodore tugboat was starting to head home to the Great Ocean and Tug and Salvage Company Dock. It had been a very busy day at work, pulling barges and docking cargo ships. As Theodore was taking his place for story time, he started to remember that it was only a few weeks ago that the Dispatcher had sent Oliver the Vast back to his own harbor.

No matter how hard he tried, the memories of Oliver taunting him and bumping him were still lingering within his mind. Focusing on his work at the Big Harbor had helped Theodore for a while, but it seemed like he would never be able to get Oliver out of his mind.

After story time, and all the tugs were in there docks, everyone pulled their hats down, said goodnight, and fell asleep.

Theodore closed his eyes and tried to dream about being an ocean tug. "I hope that there aren't any new tugboats in the Big Harbor for a long time," he thought as he drifted off to sleep.


	2. The New Tugboat:And so it begins…

" **Theodore and the New Tugboat"**

Summary: The Dispatcher makes a very surprising announcement to the tugs.

Theodore Tugboat and characters belong to original creators and to PBS.

Skylar tugboat belongs to me.

 **Chapter 1: And so it begins…**

 **{After Prologue}** _One week later~_

It was a bright and sunny Monday morning in the Big Harbor. All the tugs were waiting for the Dispatcher to begin the morning meeting. "Good morning tugboats," the Dispatcher began. "I have a special announcement for you."

The tugs all looked at looked at each other with excitement.

"A new tugboat will be transferring from her harbor to ours."

"What does 'transfer' mean?" Hank asked.

"Transfer," Foduck explained, "Means to move something, or someone, from one place to another."

The Dispatcher turned to Foduck. "That is correct." He continued with his announcement. "She will be –"

"She?" It was George that interrupted him.

"Yes George," the Dispatcher said. "The new tug is a girl tug and her name is Skylar."

"Skylar…" Emily breathed. "That's a beautiful name." She then asked," Will she dock here with us?"

"Yes Emily," The Dispatcher answered. "She has to, since she will be working with Foduck on his safety patrols. Speaking of which; Foduck, you will be escorting Skylar around the harbor. You will show her everything she needs to know about the Big Harbor."

The Dispatcher turned towards the other tugs. "George and Emily, you will bring in the giant container ship form outside the Harbor. Hank and Theodore, you two will move Brunswick barge and replace all of the worn out and broken dock bumpers. That will be all." And with that, the tugs all set out for work.

All except Theodore. He slowly followed Hank to Brunswick's dock.

"Do you think this new tug is big? Do you think she's grumpy or fun? Maybe she's…" Hank continued to ramble on and on about his questions about the new tug. Theodore had some questions of his own. Would this new tug be mean, like Oliver was? Would she tease him, calling him small or little tug, or a crybaby?

"Maybe she'll bump me really hard, and chase me around the Harbor." Old memories of Oliver started to pop up in his mind.

"Theodore? Are you coming or what?"

Theodore sped up his engine as he hurried to catch up with Hank. _I'll have to_ _avoid Skylar_ , He thought to himself. _If she's in one dock, I'll move to another. If_ _she goes left, I'll go right. If she tries to make fun of me, I'll just go away. I won't_ _be bullied again_.

* * *

Skylar the Valorous breathed in a deep breath of salty sea air. It had taken a few months, numerous eruptive storms, and various refill stops; but finally, she had made it to the Big Harbor.

"Ok…. Where do I go from here?" She stopped by the edge of the harbor and scanned her surroundings.

Two tugs were guiding a very large container ship in the harbor and towards its dock. The sun glimmered and gleamed of off the green paint of a green bridge that was stretched out from one end of the harbor to another. Multiple ships of various shapes and sizes were sailing along, hustling about their busy day. The whole place was filled with the sounds of friendly toots and honks and whistles.

To Skylar, it seemed like this was the happiest place on earth.

She was still taking in all of the scenery when a tug with a red hat came steaming towards her. His safety equipment was pinging and ponging, making all kinds of different beeps and sounds.

Skylar smirked and arched an eyebrow. "I'm 'gonna take a wild guess and say that you're the safety tug around here, the one I was told I'm working with." She said in a heavy voice that made the tug float back in surprise.

Skylar grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," She apologized. "I'm kind of a loud tug."

The tug then cleared his throat. "Welcome to the Big Harbor. My name is Foduck. I'm the official safety tug in the Big Harbor."

"I know, I just said that. And what kind of a name is 'Foduck? Four ducks? Uhh…for a duck?"

"Foduck _."_ Said Foduck stiffly. "And my name is an important name."

"Ok, ok!" The last thing Skylar wanted was to upset the tug that she was supposed to work with. "Can you show me where the Great Ocean Tug and Salvage Company dock is? I'm supposed to meet someone named the Dispatcher?"

"You will be meeting him after I show you around the Big Harbor." Foduck turned and headed into the harbor. "Follow me please."

Skylar followed him into the Harbor. The noise level seemed to increase as she got deeper in the heart of the busy port.

"…And over here is the Oceanic institute, where Rebecca the Research Vessel lives. Near the Institute is the Fuel dock, where we tugs fill up with fuel."

"Uhhuh." Skylar was only half-listening to Foduck. As she glanced around a sudden friendly toot came from behind her, making Skylar "jump" a little.

Two tugs; one with a blue toque and another with a red baseball cap, who was pulling a brown barge, were excitingly floating up to meet her.

Well, the blue toque tug was. The other tug lowered his gaze, like he was purposely avoiding Skylar.

The blue toque tug whistled his friendliest whistle. "Hello! I'm Hank. And that's Theodore."

Skylar smiled. "How's it going Hank? Theo? I'm Skylar. You can call me 'Sky, for short."

Like Foduck, the two tugs floated back a little in surprise when they heard Sky's loud, booming voice. Theodore had backed the barge he was towing straight into a dock. "Ouch! " The barge cried. "Sorry" mumbled Theodore apologetically.

Skylar couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Theodore glowered at her.

"We have a lot more to see before it gets dark," said Foduck. "You can talk to Theodore and Hank later at the dock." Skylar gave two blasts of her mighty whistle and proceeded after Foduck once more.

"Strange." Foduck mused to himself.

"What?" asked Skylar.

"Theodore loves making new friends. He's friends with just about everyone here in the harbor. It was almost like he was scared by your presence."

"You'd be scared out of you bumpers too if a tug the size of a cargo ship came barreling up to and bellowed out a great gigantic 'HELLO!' right at your face." Skylar pointed out. "I probably frightened the little 'fella. He'll warm up to me eventually. We're going to be good friends, I can feel it in my boiler."

* * *

That evening, after work, all the tugs headed home for the Great Ocean Tug and Savage Company dock. Theodore hid himself between Hank and Emily. He peeked between the two tugs and saw Skylar talking with the Dispatcher. "And how was your tour of the Big Harbor?" the Dispatcher was saying.

"I had a blast! Everyone is so nice and friendly. Well, except for that Guysborough 'fella. Anyway, this harbor is almost set up like my old one so I'll have no trouble finding my way around here."

The Dispatcher was pleased. "Very good, you will immediately begin your safety patrols with Foduck in the morning."

Hank floated up to Skylar. "Do you want to go first for storytelling time?"

"For what?"

"Didn't you have storytelling time back at your old harbor?" George asked.

"Uhh- no."

"Storytelling time," Emily explained," Is when we all gather around the dock and tell each other stories about our day or our adventures."

Skylar thought about this for a moment. "I did meet a pod of Orca whales out on the ocean. Would that count as a story for storytelling time?"

"Oh, yes!" the tugs exclaimed as they all huddled around Skylar to hear her story.

Theodore quietly slipped back towards his dock. He wasn't in the mood for storytelling time. All he could think about was meeting Skylar for the first time.

The way her large, blue police hat had blocked out part of the sun. She was as huge as George, but as tall as Foduck. Her eyes had that mischievous look in them, like she was here to make trouble. He remembered how loud and booming her voice was when she had said hello to him and Hank, he remembered how she had laughed at him when he had accidentally bumped Brunswick into the dock. Her laugh, he noted, sounded a lot like Oliver's laugh.

Theodore felt as if someone was watching him. He looked around and saw that Skylar was watching him a little while she was telling her story.

Theodore glared at her and looked the other way.

* * *

Bright and early the next morning, Skylar began her safety patrol with Foduck.

It was an easy job. All they had to do was inspect the docks, check the incoming ships for any damage, make sure nothing dangerous was floating around, and alert any outgoing ships of stormy weather. "Everything looks good. No emergencies today." Skylar said. "True," Foduck said. "Everything might appear calm now, but we must always be prepared for things to go wrong. You never know when an emergency might happen."

That was another thing about Foduck. He always took his job very seriously.

 _Bet he's never had any real fun other than this job,_ Skylar thought sarcastically.

She spotted Theodore a few yards away hurrying past them.

Skylar whistled her friendliest whistle. "Hey Theo!"

Theodore looked straight ahead, speeding up his engine.

Skylar looked puzzled. "Weird."

* * *

Skylar was refueling at the fuel dock when she saw Theodore sailing by.

Again, she whistled her friendliest whistle and bellowed," Hey, hey Theo! How's work coming along?"

Theodore was so startled he almost flew out of the water. With a rev of his engine, he zoomed past Sky before she had a chance to blink.

"What was that all about?"

* * *

Around the mid-afternoon, Skylar and Foduck were making their way back to the GOTSC dock and wouldn't you know it there was Theodore smiling and laughing with Hank.

With a vroom of her engine, Skylar set off to talk to Theodore. She hoped he was ok. Clearly, there was something wrong with him. She just wanted to know what was up and help him out with his problem, get to know him some more, and even be his friend-

The minute Theodore caught her eye, his face turned to pure horror. Bolting out of his dock, he ignored Hank and Foduck's cries of concern.

Skylar poured on a little extra power. For a small tug, he sure was fast. He easily zig – zagged around the other ships while she dodged by other passing ships trying to keep up with him, just barely squeezing past a large cargo ship and the edge of Willy's Island. She caught a brief glimpse of Theodore turning left a bit past the Harbor marker buoy.

Just as she rounded the corner, Theodore called back, "Just leave me alone Oliver!"

Skylar slowed down a little. Who was Oliver? Why did Theo call her that?

It suddenly hit her like a wave. The terrified looks, the angry scowls on his face, the hurt look in his eyes- she knew what was wrong.

She followed Theodore, keeping her distance, to a small sandy beach cove.

There he was, huddled up in the right corner eyes squeezed shut, trying not to shake so much. Skylar gently floated towards him. "Theo?" She said in a soft voice.

Theodore didn't answer.

Skylar carefully floated up next to him. "Theo," she began. "Do I remind you of someone?"

Again, no answer.

You called me 'Oliver." "Was he mean to you?" she asked gently.

Theodore opened up his eyes. His sad face said it all.

"And did he call you names and tease you and bump you really hard that it hurt a lot? "She continued.

"Yes, he did." Theodore answered in a small, surprised voice.

"I've met a lot of tugs and ships who were mean like that. I never knew why didn't like me, but I refused to believe the mean thing that they said about me. Theo, whatever nasty words that this Oliver guy called you they are not true. I see a tug whose nice and kind to everyone he meets. So whaddya say we start over and be friends?"

Theodore was silent for the longest time.

"You take your time with this. And I won't call you 'Theo if you don't want me too." Skylar turned towards the coves entrance. "Come on," she said. "Your friends are pretty worried about you." She started to head out.

"Skylar?"

Skylar stopped and turned around.

Theodore smiled his brightest smile. "I'd like it if you would call me 'Theo. And I'd like it even more if we can be friends?"

Skylar grinned from bumper to bumper. And together, the two tugs headed for home, knowing in their engines that this was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.

 **A/N: YES! FIRST CHAPTER IS UP! I'm just so excited! Please bear with me, I'm new here to , and my writing isn't exactly New York Times best seller, but hopefully as I write more, my skills will improve. Please let me know what you think about the story in the reviews section, criticism is helpful.**

 **Some of the TNT chapters will be within the episodes of the show, other chapters will be about whatever stories I make up, Skylar info will be posted on my page. And with that I bid you all a good day.**


	3. Birthday Surprise for Theodore

" **Theodore and the New Tugboat"**

Summary: The title says it all.

 **Chapter 2: Birthday Surprise for Theodore**

Skylar was finishing up her work for the day when she got a call over her radio. It was Foduck, telling her to hurry back to the dock because the Dispatcher had an important meeting.

Skylar hurried back to the dock. As she drew closer, she could see the other tugs all smiling at one another. All the tugs, except for Theodore who wasn't there.

"How come Theo's not here?" Skylar asked.

"Because," the Dispatcher announced, "the meeting is about Theodore. Tomorrow is Theodore's birthday. And what better way to celebrate, than to throw him a surprise party."

Skylar and the others whistled and tooted with excitement.

The Dispatcher faced George. "George, you and Hank will be in charge of getting the decorations after work and hanging them all throughout the harbor."

George and Hank both tooted their whistles.

The Dispatcher then turned towards Emily. "Emily," he said, "you and Foduck will be in charge of planning all the games and helping George and Hank decorate the harbor. Near the end of the day the party will begin, and everyone is going to sing 'Happy Birthday', so be sure that your whistles are in fine working order."

Finally, the Dispatcher turned to Skylar. "Skylar, you are going to distract Theodore so he doesn't find out about the surprise."

Skylar looked upset. "Now hold up a minute. Why do I have to be the one who keeps him from finding out?"

"Because," George quipped with a smile. "'Distraction is your middle name."

"That is true." Skylar agreed. "I am good at distractions."

"All the more reason why you are the right tug for the job." The Dispatcher then addressed everyone. "Remember, we don't want him to find out about the party so everyone must pretend to forget it's his birthday."

"Won't that make him think we really forgot his birthday?" asked Hank.

Skylar shook her head. "It's all part of the surprise. If we act like were planning a party for him, he'll know that we're planning a party for him and it will ruin the surprise."

Hank looked confused. "But, we are planning a party for him. How can we act like we aren't planning this party for Theodore?"

"That's why we're _pretending_ to forget about his birthday." Explained Emily.

"Oh." Hank understood now. At least, he thought he did.

After the meeting, the tugs decided to head to bed early, so they would have plenty of energy for the work ahead tomorrow. As Skylar settled into her dock, which was next to Foduck's, she thought of all the ways that she can distract Theodore.

"This is 'gonna to be easy. What could go wrong?" she thought to herself as she fell asleep.

Skylar found out the next morning that it wasn't too hard to keep Theo distracted. During the morning work meeting he beamed and grinned, lost in his own thoughts. _Look at him, thinking about his birthday_. _He's so happy. And distracted. Looks like I got my work cut out for_ _me_. Skylar thought.

* * *

Just like according to plan, the Dispatcher gave everyone their jobs and no one mentioned Theodore's birthday. Skylar followed Theodore to his job for that morning, which was to help George and Hank move a big container ship into the harbor.

Skylar watched him like a hawk. She smiled when he squeezed his eyes shut and waited for Foduck to squirt him with his firehose. Skylar remembered asking him about this at the meeting yesterday.

"I always squirt Theodore on his birthday." Foduck had told her. "He loves it when splash him with my firehose."

"So. You do like to have fun." Skylar joked.

"Of course I do!" He protested.

"Your definition of 'fun' is checking the bell buoy's and making sure that their exactly in their place." Skylar countered, a little smirk on her lips.

Foduck was starting to get upset. "It's not true! I do like to have fun-"

"You can do it."

Skylar's thoughts were interrupted by Petra the Pilot. It looked like she was taking Theodore to the front of the ship.

"Hey, hey, Mr. tug in charge!" Skylar said happily as she floated up to Theodore.

Theodore nervously looked up at the big ship.

"Nervous?" Skylar asked.

"A little." Theodore admitted.

Skylar boomed," Don't worry about it! You're gonna' do fine."

"Really?" Theodore asked.

"Really." Skylar smiled.

With that little bit of encouragement, Theodore quickly got into position and led the ship into the harbor. Skylar watched from afar. It didn't take long for the tugs to make it to the ship's place. Everyone, including Petra, told Theodore that he did a good job.

"I've guess I've learned a lot," Skylar heard Theodore say," since my _last birthday!"_

No one heard him. Everyone was already heading off to their next job.

Skylar saw Emily float up to Theodore. She was telling him that Pearl needed him behind Willy's Island. As he headed off, Skylar floated up to her and said, "Did you get the decorations?"

"Yes," Emily announced "As soon as I finish work, I'm heading over to Shediac to pick them up. Foduck is busy getting the games ready."

Skylar said," Good. I'll see if Foduck needs any help setting up."

They both headed into the Harbor. The sun was shining that late afternoon, its sunbeams gently gracing the water top, warming up the chilled ocean. It was the perfect weather for a party.

As they glided along, Emily asked Skylar," Pearl didn't say why she needed Theodore behind Willy's Island. Do you know?"

A small, mischievous smile peeked through Skylar's lips. "Maybe."

"Well," Emily asked, "aren't you going to tell me?"

Skylar's smile grew a little bigger. "Nope". She replied happily.

Emily stopped and turned towards her friend. "Sky, will you please tell me!"

Skylar grinned slyly. "You know that I'm supposed to distract Theodore." she began…

* * *

 _Earlier that morning_

 _The sun was just peaking up over the horizon when two figures stealthily made their way behind Willy's Island. As they made the turn they soon found themselves in Marron Bay._

" _Thanks for helping me out with this." Skylar said as she steered Bobby barge near the rocky shoreline._

" _You're welcome." Bobby replied, a smile in his voice. "Theodore is my friend. But why logs? Why not something easier, like oil barrels?"_

" _Because," Skylar explained, "oil barrels are easy to clean up. With logs, the job will take longer, giving me and the other tugs more time to set up for the party." She quickly unhooked her tow rope "Ready?" She cried._

" _Ready!" With a mighty sweep of his crane, those logs stacked up on Bobbie's deck came tumbling off with a kersploosh._

 _Skylar spread the logs all over the bay, making sure that they would be difficult to clean up. Once she was done, she turned to Bobby and said, "You remember your line?" Bobby replied, "Yes. If Theodore asks what happened, I'll tell him that I spilled my logs into the water."_

" _And don't forget, you have to keep him here till sunset. Ok?"_

" _Ok." Bobby answered. Barges are just so polite._

 _Skylar then hurried back to the Great Ocean Salvage and Company dock just as the other tugs were starting to wake up…_

* * *

"So that's how that happened. But how did Pearl know to ask Theodore to clean up the logs."

Skylar answered, "Simple, I radioed ahead and told her that someone had told me that Bobby had spilled his logs in Marron bay. I also mentioned that I was busy and couldn't clean them up, and I suggested that she'd find you to ask Theodore to be the one to clean them. When she asked why you couldn't do it, I told her that you were also very busy and that Theodore was the only one who wasn't doing anything else today."

Emily was impressed. "Clever!"

"Thanks. Common, better hurry or we'll be late."

It took all afternoon, but by the time the sun had set, the whole harbor was flooded with multicolored balloons, streamers, and a number of assorted decorations. Everyone was wearing some sort of decoration; even the Dispatcher!

The excitement increased as the tugs and the big harbor anxiously awaited for Theodore.

"Everybody ready?" Skylar called out. "He should be here any minute."

As soon as she said that, Theodore, Bobby barge, and Pearl were heading into the big harbor.

Foduck rushed out and squirted Theodore his fire hose.

"NOW!" Skylar shouted and all the other tugs rushed out from under Benjamin Bridge. Happy Birthday Theodore!" everyone shouted.

The evening sky was filled with the sounds of laughs, toots, and whistles. Games were played and stories were told. Skylar was happy that she got to be part of something like this, for once.

 **A/N: To those of you reading my stories (hopefully someone is) and thinking "oh these are just sweet sugar coated, nothing ever goes wrong, happy ending stories" think again! * grins and laughs mischievously***


	4. Chased by a Sea Monster

" **Theodore and the New Tugboat"**

Summary: Skylar and Foduck assume their normal patrol. Or maybe it's not so normal after all..?

 **Chapter 3: Chased by a Sea Monster and Find Out**

 **That an Oil Rig got loose**

Every morning started the same. Skylar and Foduck would wake up, attend the work meeting, and head off to patrol the harbor. Every day it'd be the same thing. They inspect the docks and their bumpers, inspected all of the ships and made sure that they were tied down to their docks, checked to see if the bell buoys were in their correct places, made sure that nothing dangerous was floating around in the water, and confirm that the weather was clear and safe for sailing. Every single morning always started out like this.

Skylar was still sleeping when she felt like someone was watching her. Slowly and sleepily she opened one eye.

Foduck was hovering above her, wearing a goofy grin that made him look like a crazed seagull.

"Can I help you?" Skylar grumbled.

"Do you know what day it is?"

"Thursday?" Skylar said irritably.

"Yes! And what else?" Foduck's grin stretched across his face. His eyes sparkling with glee.

Skylar sighed. "I don't know. What's today, Foduck?"

"Today," said Foduck excitedly, "is coast inspection day!"

Coast inspection day happens every Thursday. The coast would be inspected for any dangerous objects that could fall in the water and make its way into the harbor. On this day Foduck always wakes up early to get a head start on his safety patrol. He does this so that he has plenty of time to start his coast inspection.

Skylar knows this and dislikes it. A lot.

She moaned, "The meeting doesn't begin for another ten minutes." She tried to go back to sleep.

Foduck nudged her repeatedly. "Get up, get up! We don't want to be late!"

Skylar shot him a look that said 'go away now or I will hurt you'.

He nervously backed away.

* * *

The second the work meeting was over, Foduck rushed past Skylar. "Hurry, we don't want to be late!" he said excitedly.

Skylar followed along after him. Their first job for the day was to inspect the docks.

"Isn't this a great day!" Foduck hummed as he checked the docks.

Skylar just rolled her eyes and continued examining the docks for anything dangerous.

"In fact," Foduck continued, "this is one of the best days I've ever had!"

 _How could this be his best day ever?_ Skylar thought to herself. _I can think of plenty of other exciting things to do instead of dock inspection._

All throughout the morning the two tugs patrolled the harbor, Foduck happily humming to himself and proclaiming how great the day was, and Skylar who mumbled and murmured about why she bothered to get up that morning. It's not that she didn't like doing patrols. She just didn't like doing them with another safety tug. At her old harbor, Skylar did the patrols by herself; she wasn't used to being with another safety tug. A safety tug with a weird name and an even weirder love for safety.

Finally, after all their jobs were done, Skylar and Foduck traveled up the coast for the coat inspection.

Foduck almost blew his funnel, all his excitement and anticipation just boiling over. A little along the coast he looked up at the rocky cliffs. "Those rocks are safe. Nothing dangerous here."

"Good." Skylar said sarcastically, gazing up at the rocks. "Wouldn't want any cliffs floating into the harbor."

Foduck didn't hear her. He was now busy scanning the water. "Nothing dangerous floating in the water." He stated.

"Really?" She scoffed, "I'm pretty sure I just saw a cliff making its way into the harbor."

Foduck stopped and turned to face Skylar. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." She sighed. "That's kind of the problem."

"What do you mean?" asked Foduck.

Skylar looked around. "Every Thursday we come out here to find something dangerous in and or around the water; we check the water and surrounding area for dangerous items; we don't find anything bad in the water and or the surrounding area. Nothing exciting ever happens!"

Foduck looked at her with disbelief. "What's wrong with everything being safe? It's part of our job."

"I'm thankful that nothing dangerous has threatened the harbor." Skylar assured him. "But is it too much to ask for a little excitement around here?"

"Plenty of exciting things happen in the Big Harbor," Foduck said as he turned back towards the coast, "you just have to look for them later. Right now, we are inspecting the coast for dangerous objects in the water." With that, he continued with his inspection.

Skylar also continued with her inspection. She wondered why Foduck was always so serious. Bet he never loosened up before and had fun. The more she thought about it…

A mischievous smile slowly appeared on Skylar's face.

* * *

"Nothing dangerous in this part of the coast." Foduck sang happily. "Today is a perfect day!"

The sun was shining. The weather was gorgeous. The inspection was going well. Foduck smiled to himself, this really was a perfect day. He wondered why Skylar wasn't having a good time. He stopped short. Skylar haven't said anything sarcastic within the last five minutes. She always says something sarcastic every two minutes every patrol, he knew because he counted.

He looked around. "Skylar?" _Hmm_ , he thought to himself, _she must be patrolling a different part of the harbor_.

As if on cue, Foduck's radio crackled to life. " **Foduck? Can you hear me?"**

She sounded almost nervous, and why was she panting like she was all out of breath? " **I hear you. Are you alright?"**

" **N-no,"** she sputtered, **"I-I-I-don't know? There was… I saw..!"**

" **Just calm down! What are your exact coordinates?"**

" **I'm down at the dreary, old, gloomy part of the harbor."**

" **Where!?"** Foduck asked.

" **You'll know it when you see it! Just** _ **hurry**_ **!"**

Without a moment to loose, Foduck hurried off to find Skylar.

* * *

It took a while, but Foduck eventually found the dark, dreary, gloomy part of the harbor. Everything about this cove was exactly like its name: dark, dreary, and gloomy.

Foduck turned on his search lights so he could see his surroundings. **"Skylar, are you here?"** he radioed. Nothing but static came from the other end.

Several branches stuck out from between the cliffs like gnarled arms reaching out for their next victims. Dark shadowy figures loomed across the rocks, making the whole place mysterious and ominous. The soft sounds of growling slowly filled up the cove-

Foduck stopped in his tracks. He waited; listening for the strange growling sound.

" **Grrrrroowwll…"**

"Skylar?" he called out, "where are you?"

The first thought that came to his mind was' what if a sea monster got her?' He then remembered that there were no sea monsters in the big Harbor, and no such things as sea monsters even existed.

" **Grrrrrooowwl…"** That growl sounded awfully close.

There was total silence. "Sk-kylar..?" Foduck squeaked in a voice that he barely recognized as his own.

A loud and sudden whoosh whizzed by behind him. Foduck spun around so fast he could only see a blur.

" **ROAR!"** came a voice in front of him.

"AAAHH!" Foduck screamed and blasted his whistle and turned back around so fast he nearly toppled over.

Skylar laughed so hard, her engine hurt. "Eh, what's up doc?"

Foduck took a moment to regain his composure. "Skylar!" he roared. "What you did was wrong, I thought you were in real danger! Why did you do this!?"

"Relax," Skylar said, catching her breath, "this was exactly what you needed.

"Needed?" he asked "What I needed was for you to help patrol the coast with me, not scare me with your cruel joke! I'm going to have to report this to the dispatcher." Before Skylar could say another word, he promptly headed back to the Big Harbor.

* * *

Foduck was still fuming about what had happened at the coast by the time he made it to the harbor entrance. _Skylar,_ he fumed, _of all the irresponsible, childish, dumbest things…_

A familiar whistle was heard close behind him. Skylar raced up beside him. "You didn't give me a chance to explain myself." She said.

"What's there to explain?" Grumbled Foduck. "You took an important job and turned it into some silly joke."

"Yeah," Skylar agreed, "to make you laugh."

This made Foduck slow down a little.

Skylar went on, "I did this all the time back at my old harbor. It helped lighten the mood and made my patrols easier to do. I like to have fun, and I shouldn't have tried to change how you do your patrols here at this harbor."

Foduck kept moving towards the Dispatchers dock. He didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. Thought you needed a good laugh. I'll just go to my dock now." Skylar turned toward the direction of her dock.

Foduck still didn't say anything. Then, a tiny smile emerged on his face. "I was pretty scarred, wasn't I?"

Skylar chuckled," Your whistle just about blasted off of your mast like a rocket."

They both chuckled. Foduck slowed down a little more. "I will let this incident slide," Foduck stated," if you don't do it again."

Skylar grinned a mischievous grin. "I can't promise you, but I will try."

Foduck watched as she happily made her way back to her dock. _She is a one of a kind tug._ He thought to himself. _A one of a kind tug._

* * *

The next morning Skylar and Foduck were conducting their regular safety patrol around the harbor. "What a crazy night." Skylar recalled. "I didn't think that an oil rig could move so fast!"

"I'm just glad he didn't crash into Willy's Island." Foduck said, relieved. "And that Sigrid is ok, and nobody got hurt."

Skylar nodded in agreement. They both floated along, watching the harbor come to life with ships and boats coming in and heading out to sea.

"I think I was wrong." Skylar said.

Foduck looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Exciting things do happen here. I just 'gotta keep my eyes open for them."

Foduck smiled. "Just as long as there aren't any sea monsters hiding in the coast."

Skylar and Foduck laughed and whistled together.


	5. Stuff and Memories

" **Theodore and the New Tugboat"**

Summary: The tugs learn some new things about Skylar

 **Chapter 4: Stuff and Memories**

Skylar was just coming back in the harbor from her patrol when she saw them coming towards her. Hank, who had an orange monster truck tire attached to his bow was trying not to bump into the other tugs; Theodore, whose face was pale, was staring cross-eyed at some sort of wind spinner on his deck. A megaphone-shaped emergency whistle on Foduck's mast was blaring out every five minutes, filling the air with the sounds of dying bagpipes. And Emily- she had this giant metal thing on her back. Skylar didn't know what it was.

"What happened to you guys?" Skylar asked.

Foduck sighed, "It's a long story."

Hank explained how he and Theodore met Scally, the ship with 'treasures' from around the world. He had given the tugs their new things, but they were causing them from finishing their work.

"Now," Hank said, "We're on our way to the junk dock to get rid of our stuff."

Foduck looked at his new siren wistfully. "Do I have to get rid of my siren? It's so big and shiny; and I think I finally got it working—"

At that moment, his siren went off wailing and howling.

Skylar winced. "That thing sound sounds like a fat seagull playing a broken trumpet — _get rid of it_. Besides, you don't have to throw away your stuff, I'd be more than happy to take it off of your hands. Except for the siren," Skylar smiled at Foduck. "That _has_ to get thrown out."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "What would you do with our stuff?"

"I'm 'gonna use it to decorate my cave."

Everyone was puzzled. "Cave?" asked Foduck. "What cave?"

Skylar smiled her mischievous Skylar smile. It had only been a few months since she had moved to the Big Harbor, but everyone knew that her smile meant something unpredictable was going to happen.

"I'll show you at storytelling time." And with that, she collected the tugs stuff and headed back out of the harbor.

The four tugs watched as she disappeared around Willy's Island. "I've been at this harbor for a very long time, and I don't know any caves in or around here." Said Foduck finally.

Emily thought for a moment. "Maybe this cave is hidden, and we can't see it?"

"I bet," said Hank excitedly, "that the cave has hidden pirate treasure in it! Maybe even a whole pirate ship!"

"Hank," Foduck stated, "there are no pirate ships or pirate treasure in the Big Harbor."

"Just a thought." Hank grinned.

* * *

As soon as all their work was done, the tugs raced back to their docks for storytelling time. When they got there, they noticed that Skylar wasn't there.

The Dispatcher turned towards the tugs. "Skylar has a surprise for you for storytelling time. She is waiting for you at Willy's Island."

Everyone turned around and went straight to Willy's Island. "Ooh!" Squealed Hank with delight, "she's going to show us the pirate ship and its treasure!"

"There is no pirate ship, Hank." Foduck reminded him.

They soon reached Willy's Island which, where Skylar was waiting. Smiling her mischievous grin, she led the confused tugs past the coast to the small gloomy part

of the harbor, which was now hard to see because of the night sky. Shining their lights in the water, the tugs carefully navigated through the murky waters. Near the rocky end of the gloomy cove, hidden between two tall, jagged rocks was a small cave.

Skylar stopped near the entrance and turned around. "I want everyone to form a straight line behind me, smallest to largest. The first tug will tie their tow rope to mine and the second and the third, until all of our tow ropes are tied to each other. Then I want everyone to turn off their lights."

"We can't do that," protested Foduck, "there could be rocks hidden in the water. It's not safe."

Everyone, who just finished tying their ropes to each other, nodded in agreement.

"You guys will just have to trust me." Skylar said.

No one said anything. They weren't quite prepared for whatever Skylar had instore for them. Would this be a nice surprise or would it be just another one of Skylar's crazy-dangerous adventures?

Skylar felt a little nudge. Hank looked up at her with excited, sparkling eyes. "I'm ready, Freddy!" Hank loved Skylar from the moment she sailed into the harbor. They always told jokes and called each other silly nicknames. If Skylar were to lead the gang to an evil tug-eating octopus' lair, Hank would've been the first one inside. He trusted her.

Skylar looked at the others.

"Well?" said Theodore "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

The tugs followed Skylar into the mouth of the cave.

* * *

Skylar guided them through the inky black darkness of the cave. The line the tugs were in curved in and out, their mastheads gently scrapping against the cave's roof. The line suddenly stopped, causing the tugs to bump into each other and cry out:

"Ow!"

"Hey, watch it!"

"Careful!"

"Sorry, I didn't see you."

"No one can _see_ anything!"

Everyone heard Skylar say, "On the count of three, everyone turn on their lights."

"One," She began.

"Two…

"Three!"

The dark, pitch black of the cave vanished and was replaced with the glistening of the stalagmites and stalactites that surrounded the tugs. Everyone was amazed at the spectacular marvel that was before them.

Theodore spotted a familiar looking object. "Hey! It's my wind spinner!"

His wind spinner was on a ledge along with a number of various objects.

"What's on my smoke stack extension?" Emily asked. Cylinder shaped lanterns with different symbols were stringed together and hung across the extension.

"Those are my souvenir Chinese lanterns from my trip to China." Skylar answered.

"You've been to China!" Emily marveled as she gazed at the lanterns.

"Yep." Skylar sighed happily. "I remember the big festival happening in the middle of town. People were celebrating, lanterns like these in many shapes and sizes were hanging off of the buildings and homes. And fireworks, all different kinds of colors were displayed in the night sky."

"Wow!" Emily breathed.

Foduck looked at the stuff on the ledge. "Who's that?" he asked.

He was talking about a small framed picture of a pilot boat. She looked a lot like Petra and Pearl, but her red stripes were purple.

"That," Skylar said. "Is Paza. She was my pilot boat at my old harbor." She frowned a little, "She was my only friend." Skylar smiled softly, her voice cracking a bit, "Before I met you guys." She kept staring at the picture, bits of sadness flaked in her eyes.

"That's really sad." Theodore said sadly.

"Yeah..." Murmured Skylar. She looked at Theodore and smiled her Skylar smile again. "But we can be sad another time. Right now, we're here to have some fun."

"Fun!" Exclaimed Hank. "Especially when Skylar shows us the pirate ship and its treasure!"

Skylar looked at Hank, a confused look was on her face. "Hank, what are 'ya 'talkin 'bout?"

"This cave is a pirate cave, right?"

"For the last time Hank," said Foduck, "there are no pirates in the big harbor. This isn't a pirate cave, there is no pirate treasure, and there certainly isn't any pirate ship."

Hanks face fell. He was really hoping that this would be a pirates cave.

"Doc is right." Confirmed Skylar. "There isn't any pirates treasure or ships in here." Her eyes sparkled. "But I did meet a pirate ship once."

Hanks eyes widened. "A _real_ pirate ship!? You met a _**REAL**_ pirate!?"

Skylar showed them Hanks bumper which had a flower pot in the middle of it. A stick with a black, torn cloth hung off the side of the brim. "This was given to me by him. I met him a very long time ago at my old harbor…"

* * *

" _I was about your age Hank when it happened. I was training to be a safety tug, I practiced doing patrols near my harbor entrance... It was fun, imagining that there were thieves in the harbor and I was the only one who could stop 'em. I was caught up in my imagination that I didn't hear Paza on my radio warning me of a storm approaching. Before I realized what she had said, a giant wave came crashing down and carried me out to sea. I tried to fight the waves, but the current was too strong, and I was swept away. Wave upon wave kept beating against my deck, threatening to full up my hull and drown me. A big wave attacked me from the front and I blacked out for a long time. When I came to, I was caught on some rocks; all tired, scared, cold, and alone. I stayed up there on the rocks, calling for help knowing that out here, in the middle of the ocean, no one would hear me. I tried to radio for help, but the stormy weather blocked the signal. I didn't think I'd ever get back to my harbor. (_ Not that I really wanted to go back) Skylar thought to herself. _Just when I lost all hope, he appeared. From the foggy sky emerged this behemoth of a ship; his entire body was rough and old, his bow had a mouth with sharp jagged teeth. His sails were torn and ripped and flapping furiously in the wind. The flag was a classic pirates skull and crossbones. But the most intriguing part about him was his eyes. Eyes that, with one glance, could pierce the hull of even the strongest of ships._

 _He glided towards me, barely making any ripples in the water. I panicked. Was this going to be the end of Skylar? There he floated, all calm like; his eyes were gentle and comforting as if they were saying, "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." With one gentle swoop of his rope from his rigging, he freed me from my rocky prison. 'Come little lass.' He spoke, 'Let's get you home.' It took a while, but he got my back to my old harbor. As I turned to thank him, he disappeared under the ocean, like a submarine. The only thing remaining was a small piece of his flag; torn off and floating in front of me. I never saw him again…"_

* * *

"WOW!" all the tugs gasped. Even Foduck was taken away by Skylar's story.

Hank floated in front of Skylar. "Do you think that he's still out there?" He asked hopefully.

"I think he is." Skylar said. "And I hope to meet him once more."

* * *

 **A/N: If anyone has watched the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, take the front half of the Flying Dutchman and the back half of the Black Pearl and you should get a good look at what the pirate ship in the story looks like. If you remember in the Stanger Tides movie, the part where the rope grab the crew and hoist the up in the air, that is how I'm going to have the tugs pick up things, like hands. Please like and share and review these stories!**


	6. Hurt Feelings

" **Theodore and the New Tugboat"**

Summary: Skylar tries to make Foduck feel better after he gets his feeling hurt

 **Chapter 5: Hurt Feelings**

The morning work meeting was commencing. The tugs were lined up and waiting for their assigned jobs for the day. Skylar was smiling at Foduck, who was playing with Theodore. He was aiming his firehose and trying to squirt Theodore, but he kept dodging Foduck's water blasts.

"Missed me!" Theodore tooted happily.

The Dispatcher turned around. "Everyone, please stay in line." He said.

Skylar chuckled a little. It was very hot that morning and Skylar wanted to splash around with her friends. But she knew that the dispatcher wouldn't be happy with that, which made Skylar want to do it even more.

"Skylar, you and Foduck have your regular safety patrol – GAH!"

A spray of water suddenly interrupted and doused the dispatcher. Skylar had to hold her breath from howling with laughter. While trying to squirt Theodore Foduck missed and accidentally soaked the Dispatcher! She knew that he didn't mean to get the Dispatcher wet, but it was pretty funny.

The Dispatcher whipped around, hat soggy and mustache dripping, to find the source of the spray. He knew that there was one tug who could have done it.

" _Foduck! Stop spraying that firehose!"_ The Dispatcher shouted.

Everyone fell silent. No one had ever heard him yell like that before. Skylar could see that Foduck was embarrassed and upset about what happened.

"Take it easy." Skylar said to the Dispatcher. "It's just water. There's no harm in getting wet."

"He shouldn't have been fooling around in the first place." The Dispatcher replied seriously. "Had he been paying attention to the meeting this wouldn't have happened!"

"Meh, meh, meh, meh oh no, I'm all wet! Ah!" Skylar murmured in a mimicking tone.

"What did you say?"

Skylar smiled mischievously. "Oh, nothing." She said in a sing-song tone.

As the meeting progressed Skylar saw that Foduck quietly slipped away from the group. Feeling worried for her friend, she too slipped away and followed him.

"Hey." She said. "You ok?"

He appeared as though he didn't hear her.

"Hey." She said louder. "You ok?"

"We'll start the patrol by checking the ships and making sure that they're safely tied to their docks." Foduck replied.

Skylar nodded, not saying anything else. He was clearly still upset about this morning's accident. _Nothing to worry about._ She thought to herself. _Once we start the daily patrol, nothing will be able to put him in a bad mood... by the afternoon, he'll be back to his old, serious self._

* * *

The day went on and the two of them went about their daily patrol. They made sure that all of the bell buoys were in their right place and that nothing dangerous was floating in the water.

Skylar glanced over at Foduck, expecting him to be ranting on about the importance of a safe harbor. He was silent, which was odd. Normally, he would be ecstatic about the routinely harbor patrol. It was like Christmas morning every day for Foduck; but not today. He seemed distracted. Confused, even.

Once they were done, Skylar turned to him. "Well, looks like everything here is ship-shape. I'm gonna head back to my dock and…" She stopped. The safety tug wasn't there.

She scanned the area. "Doc? Hey Doc?"

Skylar spotted the familiar red firefighter hat disappearing around Willy's Island. Now why was he leaving the harbor? He couldn't still be upset about this morning's incident. Could he? Common, this was Foduck the Vigilant! He never gets this upset over anything before; so why was he acting this way?

She sailed over, quickly searching around Willy's Island. There was no trace of the safety tug.

"Are you looking for something?"

Skylar looked for the owner of the voice. She glimpsed upward and saw that the voice belonged to Lily, the Lighthouse that lived on Willy's Island.

"Did you see Foduck pass by here?" Skylar asked.

"I did. He was heading for the coast. He looked so sad." Lily said concerned. "Is he feeling well?"

"That's what I'm gonna find out." Skylar thanked Lily and set off for the coast in search of her friend.

* * *

Skylar surveyed the coast, keeping an eye out for her sad partner. She journeyed along, searching every place. The cliffs, the coves, everywhere! He was nowhere to be found! Where could he possibly be? There was nowhere to go out here, except- no. He couldn't be out there. Could he?

Sure enough, when Skylar reached the dark gloomy part of the coast there he was, floating under a dreary old gloomy tree. His gaze was lowered down to the water. A frown hung on his face.

She floated in front of him. "You disappeared on me back there. Are you feeling ok?"

He didn't look up or answer her.

Skylar backed up and made a left stopping next to the gloomy tug. They floated in silence for a long time.

"You don't have to stay." Foduck said finally.

"No," Skylar said, "but I want to."

The two kept floating there. Their place was shady, cooling them off from the sweltering hot weather. The tree above them hung its branches in a depressed manner.

"Have you ever been yelled at before?" Foduck asked Skylar.

Skylar took in breath. "Well, yeah. At my old harbor, I got yelled at. I was yelled at _a lot_ actually." She cast him a questioning glance. "Is that what this is all about? You're upset at the Dispatcher for shouting at you?"

His face flushed with embarrassment. "I don't want to talk about it." He stated flatly.

"So you're embarrassed about this morning. Big deal. It was an accident. You know this, I know this, and the whole harbor knows this."

He turned away from Skylar. "I don't feel like talking to anyone." He murmured.

She nodded. "Ok. Just know that the Dispatcher isn't going to say mad at you forever because you squirted him with water."

"How do you know that?" he countered.

"Because he isn't the type of guy to hold a grudge." She responded. "I know the difference between an upset tone and a truly hateful voice."

Foduck asked quietly, "Did your Dispatcher yell at you with an upset tone, or a truly hateful voice?"

Skylar smiled her mischievous smile. "Don't try to change the subject."

He didn't say anything else. She was glad to have avoided the question because it was an awkward one. One that started to bring up painful memories of harsh words and hateful remarks.

Shoving the memories away, she turned to leave. "I'm gonna head back to my dock. Just, remember what I told you, ok?" With that, Skylar left hoping her talk had encouraged her friend.

* * *

Well, when Foduck got back to his dock the Dispatcher was waiting to apologize to him. From her dock, Skylar watch the whole conversation occur. The Dispatcher told Foduck that was sorry that he lost his temper. He even asked Foduck to cool him down with his fire hose!

Skylar watched as her friends splashed around and played. Without any hesitation, she went out to join them.


	7. A Crazy Sick Day

" **Theodore and the New Tugboat"**

Summary: Foduck is sick and Skylar has to patrol the harbor on her own

 **Chapter 6: A Crazy Sick Day**

It was a bright and sunny day at the big harbor. All the tugs were lined up to begin the morning work meeting.

The Dispatcher was giving out the jobs for the day. "Hank, you and Theodore will pick up any debris from the storm last night that is floating in the water."

Theodore and Hank grinned at each other, tooting their whistles.

"George, you and Emily will be bringing in a large cargo ship." Emily and George also grinned and tooted their whistles.

"Finally," the Dispatcher said, "Skylar and Foduck, you too will assume your regular safety patrols."

Skylar tooted her whistle and looked over at Foduck. "So doc, are you ready to begin another boring day of floating around the harbor for the hundredth time?"

Skylar expected a "The safety patrol is an important job here at the harbor." Or

"It's supposed to be a serious job, not a time to goof off," or even a "don't call me 'doc!" Instead, her partner was fast asleep snoring. Or, maybe he was sawing a brick building. She couldn't tell.

Skylar nudged her sleeping partner. "Doc?"

He very sleepily opened his eyes. "What?"

All the tugs were a bit surprised. Foduck's voice sounded like his name. A duck.

"Foduck?" The Dispatcher looked concerned. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Absolutely," He honked, "never felt better."

He might be feeling well, but he didn't look well. His eyes had lines under them making him look like he hadn't slept in weeks. He coughed a raspy and sore cough. A little snot rolled down his left nostril.

Skylar raised an eyebrow. "You don't look so well." She remembered that last night was his turn for the night patrol. The storm that night made the harbor cold and damp. He probably caught a cold from being out on patrol for too long.

"Foduck," the Dispatcher began, "perhaps you should stay at your dock and rest,"

"No, I'm more than fit for duty sir. I'm…"

At that moment Foduck let out a big sneeze.

 _AAACCHHOOOO!_

It sprayed snot almost everywhere in the water. He sneezed so hard that his whistle sounded like a duck being choked and he's gasping for air. He groaned coughing some more.

All the tugs backed away from him.

"It's settled then." The Dispatcher turned to Skylar. "Foduck is going to stay here at his dock and rest. You are going to have to patrol the harbor by yourself. I can have one of the tugs help you."

Skylar shook her head. "That's ok. I can do the patrol by myself."

"Are you sure?" the Dispatcher said. "It's a pretty big job."

"I've done the harbor patrols by myself at my old harbor." Skylar said reassuringly. "It's no big deal."

The dispatcher said that if she did need any help, she should ask one of the pilot boats or ask the other tugs for help. Skylar knew that she didn't need to ask for help. She had done the safety patrol around her harbor multiple times and nothing bad had _ever_ happened. Except for the occasional floating safety hazard, her days were usually dull.

Everyone had already gone out to do their jobs. Skylar was checking the bell buoys, making sure that they weren't damaged. As she was working she kept thinking about her old patrols back at her old harbor. Doing patrols by herself wasn't really as fun as doing it with someone else. Then again, safety patrols weren't that much fun to do either.

Skylar finished up there and started to check the water when she heard some voices angrily shouting at each other followed by angry whistle toots. She headed over to the voices.

The voices were coming from the bay's entrance. It was George and Emily and the cargo ship that they were supposed to bring into the harbor. There was another ship blocking their path. This ship had Bedford the bell buoy all wrapped up in his anchor rope.

Skylar floated up to them. "What's the problem?"

Everyone tried to answer at once.

"One at a time!" Skylar yelled.

The ship with the tied up bell buoy said, "My anchor rope got loose. As I was reeling it in, they started to come into the harbor. I tried to steer out of the way, but my rope got tangled up around this little fella." He looked down at Bedford. "Now I can't leave the harbor!"

"And we can't come in the harbor!" Grumbled George.

Skylar was going to say that George and Emily should just go around the ships right side, but then she could see that some of the rope was sprawled out in the water around Bedford. She didn't want any ships getting tangled up in the rope.

She called Emily over and told her to pick up the rope in the water. Skylar started to untangle Bedford using her own ropes. Soon, they had the bell buoy untangled and the ship had its anchor reeled back in.

Emily went back to her position and helped George bring in the cargo ship. They whistled "Thank you" and went on their way. Bedford and the ship also thanked Skylar as she continued her safety patrol, surveying the water for dangerous items.

She barely even started when her radio crackled to life. _**Skylar?**_

 _ **Theo? What's wrong?**_

 _ **Can you please come to the Sandy Beach? I'll explain when you get there.**_

Skylar headed for the beach wondering if Theo was ok. Was he hurt? Did he find something at the beach?

She arrived at the beach to find Theo already waiting for her. "Theo?" She asked. "Are you alright? Where's Hank?"

"Just follow me." Theodore led her past the beach to a group of rocks. There, wedged between two rocks was Hank.

"What the heck happened?" Skylar asked.

Hank looked up at her embarrassed. "Theodore and I were picking up trash from the storm. And saw something shiny over here. At least… I think it was shiny… it could have been something else. Anyway I came over here to pick up the thing and I got stuck and I can't get out." He laughed nervously a little.

"I tried to free him, but he's really stuck." Theodore said. He looked at Skylar with a worried face. "How are we going to get him out?"

Skylar had to chuckle. "You really got yourself stuck there, huh? Don't worry we'll get you out soon." She beckoned to Theodore. "We need to head back to the beach."

As they headed for the beach, Theodore asked, "Sky, how is coming back to the beach going to help get Hank unstuck?" Instead of answering she floated to the beach and used her ropes to grab something.

She turned around holding a bunch of slimy, green plants. "Seaweed." She said.

Theodore looked confused. "Seaweed?"

"Yep. We stick some seaweed in between Hank and the rock. You'll push from the back and I'll pull from the front."

"I get it," Theodore said. "The seaweed will help Hank slide out of the rocks!"

Skylar grinned. "Now you're getting it. Common and help me grab some more seaweed."

The two tugs hurried back to Hank carrying a pile of seaweed on their decks. They stuck the slimy plants in between Hank and the rocks.

Hank giggled, "That tickles!"

Once they finished, Theodore got behind Hank and Skylar attached her tow rope to Hanks tow rope. "Ready?" Skylar asked. Theodore tooted his whistle. "Ready!"

Hank also tooted his whistle. "Ready!"

"On three. One, two, THREE!"

Hank immediately slid out from between the rocks. Theodore and Hank whistled, "Hurray!"

Skylar was glad that Hank was ok. She gave the two tugs a hug and continued on her patrol.

She made it past the beach when her radio crackled to life. It was Constance the Coast Guard ship asking her to help get Digby the Cable ship unstuck. Digby was always getting stuck somewhere.

After getting Digby unstuck, Skylar had to pick up some barrels that fell off of a cargo ship. As soon as that was done, Skylar had to help put out a fire that started on one of the docks! All afternoon; it was one disaster after another!

Once the day was done, Skylar wearily headed back to her dock. She heard Foduck tooting "hello" at her. His whistle seemed to sound like a whistle again.

Skylar floated up to him. He was still a little pale, but looked much better than he did this morning. "You're looking a lot better," she said tiredly.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better," he coughed, "I'm glad I stayed here and rested. How was the safety patrol? I assume nothing happened, as usual."

Skylar laughed mirthlessly. "Glad you asked that, cause you're I for one heck of a story."

* * *

 **A/N: Just a heads up, the next chapter is going to be pretty sad.**


	8. Monsters

" **Theodore and the New Tugboat"**

Summary: Skylar struggles with her past

 **Chapter 7: Monsters**

* * *

The night was peaceful and quiet. The Big Harbor was still and quiet, the only sounds heard were the peaceful winds blowing softly and the waves gently lapping up against the shoreline. Stars twinkled from up above shinning like little light bulbs in a dark room. Everybody was asleep, snuggled up in their homes and docks, dreaming sweet dreams.

Theodore was dreaming about being an ocean tug, seeing the world for the very first time. He dreamt about the stories that George, Emily, and Foduck had told him about the world. He imagined himself seeing China and South America and all the places his friends visited. He could see the different towns and cities, smell the different smells he never smelled before. He could ever hear the people in these towns and cities crying out "NO!" and tooting their whistles-

Theodore woke with a start. The whistle he heard came from the other side of the dock. And everyone in the Big Harbor heard it, too.

"Be quiet!"

"What's all the racket?"

"That's the third time this week!"

"Pipe down!"

"Go back to sleep!"

All the tugs woke up as well. "What's going on?" Grumbled George.

Theodore floated to the other side of the dock. Foduck and Emily were looking at Skylar with concerned faces.

"Skylar?" Emily asked softly, "Are you ok?"

Theodore could see that Skylar was _not_ ok. Her forehead was sweating and she was gasping for air like she had just dove to the bottom of the ocean and back. Her eyes were widened and full of fear. Which was strange- he never saw Skylar afraid before. "Skylar?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

Skylar gasped, "I'm- I'm fine… just a bad dream."

"That's the third bad dream this week." George said.

"Perhaps your oil is overheating." Foduck suggested.

Skylar shook her head. "Guys, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong."

The Dispatcher, who was listening to the conversation, said, "Skylar this is the third time this week that this has happened. Perhaps if you were to tell us what your dream was, we could better understand and help you."

"I'm fine. I just want to go to sleep."

"Skylar, we're only trying to help, now please tell us what's wrong."

"Shut up! I'm _fine_ ok?!" Skylar snapped.

Everyone was shocked. They couldn't believe that Skylar had just said that to him!

All eyes were on the Dispatcher wondering what he was going to say No one in the Big Harbor had ever talked to the Dispatcher like that; and no one had ever told him to shut up. _Ever._

The Dispatcher stared straight into Skylar's eyes and said with a very serious tone, "We will discuss this in the morning." He turned to go back to sleep.

All the tugs went back to bed. Theodore could see in the corner of his eye Skylar returning to her dock with a slight look of worry in her eyes. As he returned to his dock Theodore wondered what was wrong with his friend.

The next morning, after the morning work meeting, the Dispatcher asked Theodore, and Hank to stay behind. "Theodore, Hank, you two will be joining Skylar on her safety patrol."

The two smaller tugs were surprised.

"Um, sir?" Theodore said, "Doesn't Foduck do the safety patrol with Skylar."

"Yes he does," the Dispatcher replied, "but I have asked him to help Emily and George. The reason I want you to assist Skylar is because I want you to find out why she's having bad dreams.

"I tried talking about it with her earlier, but she wouldn't talk about it. I know that you two are her closest friends so what better way to figure out what's bothering her than to have her closest friends talk to her."

Well Theodore and Hank didn't know what to say. Yes they wanted to help Skylar, they were her closest friends; but they also didn't want Skylar to get upset and snap at them like she did with the Dispatcher.

They looked at each other and then back at the Dispatcher.

"Well sir," Hank finally said, "we'll try our best."

The Dispatcher smiled at them. "Thank you. She's waiting for you at the edge of the Harbor.

Theodore and Hank headed for the harbor's entrance wondering how they were going to figure out what was wrong with Skylar.

"We could just ask her." Hank suggested. "After all, we are her closest friends."

Theodore frowned. "She might get upset at us for asking. I guess we'll just have to somehow bring it up without asking her exactly what's wrong."

"Well how are we going to do that?" Asked Hank, puzzled.

"I don't know," Theodore said, "but we have to figure out something, somehow."

* * *

Skylar waited for Hank and Theodore at the harbors entrance. Apparently, Foduck was too busy helping out George and Emily with their assignments for the day so the Dispatcher had told her that Hank and Theo were helping her instead, which wasn't a problem to her. At least they were more fun to work with.

The Dispatcher talked to her like he said he would last night. Well… he tried to talk to her, but she explained to him that she was sorry she snapped at him and that everything was fine. She knew that he wouldn't believe that, but thankfully she had managed to get out of there before he could continue talking to her.

She really was sorry that she had snapped. It was just that the Dispatcher reminded her so much of… _him_ … but she was being silly. _He_ was far away from her, the Dispatcher was here at her new harbor and he was nothing like _he_ ever was. The Dispatcher here was firm but gentle; he cared about everyone and wanted to make sure that this harbor was safe and everyone was cared for.

Unlike _him_ at her old harbor. Those memories would always haunt her.

The familiar toots of Hank and Theodore broke Skylar out of her thoughts. She grinned her mischievous grin, even though she didn't feel like it. "You guys ready to go?"

"Oh yes! We are ready!" They said happily, grinning widely.

Skylar gave them a suspicious look. For a couple of little tugs they seemed a little too happy to be going on a safety patrol.

"Ok…" Skylar said uneasily, "let's go then."

The first part of the safety patrol was inspecting the docks. Next was checking the bell buoys and then searching the waters for anything dangerous floating in it. During the whole patrol no one had said anything, which Skylar thought was also suspicious. Usually when she was with Hank and Theodore they would laugh and talk all day long. She didn't want to talk to anyone today, so maybe they could see that she didn't want to talk and that they were being polite.

They headed out of the harbor towards Sandy Beach. Skylar in the front with Hank and Theodore in the back.

Hank floated up to Skylar. "Soo… what bad dream did you have last night?"

Theodore floated up to him and bumped him. " _Hank!_ "

"What? I couldn't think of a way to ask her about what's wrong than to ask her what was wrong!"

"That's what we agreed we _wouldn't_ do!"

"Then why didn't you ask her the question?"

"Because I couldn't think of a question to ask her other than to ask her what was wrong."

Hank frowned. "I'm so confused."

Turning to face them, Skylar sighed and asked, "Did the Dispatcher put you to up to this?"

They didn't say anything. Of course the Dispatcher put them up to this. It was so obvious. No one was ever that cherry to do the safety patrol… except for Foduck.

"Yes," Theodore said, finally. "He's worried about you. We're all worried about you."

"Skylar?" Asked Hank. "What bad dream did you have last night?"

Skylar started to turn around. "It's… complicated."

"Not if you explain it to us." Theodore said.

Skylar turned back around and looked at her friends with a weak smile on her face. "It's not that simple to explain…" Should she even be telling her friends about this? Well, if she was going to talk to someone she'd prefer it to be these two. But she couldn't just come out and say what was bothering her. It was too complicated… to painful…

She took a deep breath. "You see, there are these… monsters…"

"Monsters?" Theodore asked.

"Yes, monsters. They… uh… they have been trying to steal my dreams." It was stupid, but how else could she put it?

Hank was puzzled. "Why do these monsters want your dreams?"

"I don't know," Skylar sighed, "I think it's because they followed me… from my old harbor… these monsters followed me from there. They want my dreams to be sad and scary, instead of calm and happy. Every time I try to sleep, these monsters fight me for my dreams. So, yeah, that's why I have nightmares." A little relief filled her hull. It felt good to talk about it. Sort of.

She waited for them to ask her what the real problem was.

Instead, Theodore and Hank said softly, "Oh."

After patrol, Skylar headed back to Sandy Beach while Theodore and Hank headed back to their docks. While they headed back, the two talked about what Skylar had told them. "I can't believe it. Monsters stealing Skylar's dreams." Hank frowned. "How did the monsters get inside her head?"

"I don't know." Theodore said wondering about the same thing.

"Skylar's the nicest tug in the whole harbor!" Hank cried out. "There's got to be something we can do to help her!"

Theodore thought and thought about how he and Hank could get rid of Skylar's monsters. He started thinking about the time when he had nightmares about sea monsters. He kept thinking…

Wait a minute, didn't he have that old fishing net?

Theodore immediately raced for his dock. Hank quickly followed him. Theodore reached under the dock and, after a few seconds, pulled out...

"Yes!" He cried happily. "I knew it was still here!"

Hank stared at his friend with a confused look on his face. "What are you going to do with that, Theodore?"

"Simple," Theodore replied, "I'm going to use it to help Skylar." He told Hank about his plan.

* * *

When Skylar returned to her dock that evening, she didn't expect to see Theodore and Hank waiting with… what was that thing near her dock?

The closer she got to her dock, she could see that the thing was an old fishing net decorated with seashells and tin cans. The net was attached to a piece of drift wood which hung from a little crane on her dock.

"You guys into arts and crafts?" Skylar asked.

"It's a monster trap," Theodore explained, "I made it a long time ago when I was having nightmares about a sea monster. The trap was supposed to scare away the monster, not catch it. And since you're having nightmares about monsters…"

"…the trap will scare away the monsters and they won't steal your dreams!" Hank finished.

Skylar's face slowly grew into a big smile. The corners of her eyes had little drops that threatened to become large gushing tears. "Guys…" she swallowed the little lump in her throat. "It's… I…. thank you."

Theodore and Hank beamed at each other, happy that they could help their friend.

"Skylar," Hank said, "I know you have the monster trap, but, do you want us to stay with you tonight?"

"Yes, I'd like that a lot.

That night, as Skylar drifted off to sleep, the monsters came again, threatening to steal her dreams and happy memories. But she wasn't worried. She had a state-of-the-art monster trap guarrenteed to scare away even the toughest of monsters.

She also had her two closest friends snuggled up on each side of her.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope I didn't make you cry that much, lol!**


	9. Spooky Sleepover

Summary: The girl boats have a sleepover and tell spooky stories

 **Chapter 8: Spooky Sleepover**

* * *

Skylar was heading home to her dock that afternoon. The crisp fall air was gently blowing making Skylar shiver a little. Fall was her favorite time of the year. The leaves were changing colors, the sky was a nice shade of light grey, and the air was that perfect amount of cold- not too cold and not too hot.

She smiled to herself as she floated along, slowing down as to take in the lovely scenery around her. At her old harbor, she never got the chance to enjoy the scenery around her. She would have been too busy with her work to even be thinking about it. Skylar shook her head-no more thoughts about it. Her old harbor was in the past and there was no need to keep bringing back those painful memories. The sooner she focused on her new harbor, the sooner her old one would disappear.

A familiar whistle brought Skylar out of her thoughts. Up ahead Emily and another little boat- a white cruiser by the looks of it- were racing towards her. The white boat approached Skylar. "So you're the new tug around here, huh? I'm Carla, the cool cabin cruiser."

"Hey Carla," Skyla said, "I'm Skylar. Sky for short."

"Skylar." Carla said in awe. "Cool name!"

Emily said to Skylar, "Me, Carla, Sigrid, and Dorothy were going to have a sleepover. Just us girls."

"What about the guys?"

Emily frowned. "They're already having their own sleepover. I asked them if we could join, but George said that we can't because we're girls."

Skylar was a bit confused. "What does being a girl tug have to do with a sleepover?"

"That's what I asked him! But he just said that their sleepover was for guy tugs only." A little trail of smoke began to billow from her stack. "He just makes me so mad sometimes!"

Skylar wasn't all that upset by what George had said-mainly because she had dealt with boats like that from different harbors- but she could see that Emily was upset and she wanted to do something to help her friend get back at George.

All at once a plan started to form in her mind. Skylar grinned her classic mischievous grin. "Girls, I'd be more than happy to attend your sleepover. In fact- we'll have it at my secret cove."

Emily gasped. "Really! That would be great!"

"It's settled then. I'll see you tonight."

"Great!" Emily turned to Carla. "Common! We have to get the others!" As Carla followed Emily she said, "A cool name and a cool secret cove? Skylar is super cool!"

* * *

That evening the five boats were all at Skylar's secret cove, laughing and having a good time. First they looked around the cove at Skylar's treasures (Emily told them about Scaly and the 'treasures' he had given the tugs). Then they all played a quick game of hide and seek before it got to dark (Carla and Dorothy won). They even floated under the stars; gazing up at their beauty. Skylar smiled at the sight of her friends laughing. It was nice to hear them laughing. It was even nicer to have friends.

Now the five of them were in the cave, floating in a circle telling spooky stories with each other.

"… Some say that the ghost ship still roams these waters. Searching for its next victim." Carla finished her spooky tale.

Dorothy shivered with fear. "Is… is there r-really a ghost pirate ship in the Big Harbor?" She asked nervously.

Carla held back a laugh. "There's no such thing as ghost pirate ships! It's just a story! And even if they were real, I wouldn't be scared."

"Speaking of 'being scared'…" Skylar looked out at the other tugs. "Ladies, I was told earlier that the guys were having a sleepover of their own. You know why we weren't invited?"

"Because George said that girl tugs weren't allowed." Emily growled.

All the others started to complain at once.

"That's not fair!" Cried Dorothy.

"They think they're better than us?" said Sigrid bitterly.

"Just because we're girls it doesn't mean that we can't be at their sleepover." Skylar said, "It just means that the guys won't see us coming." She looked around at the confused looks of her friend's faces. She went over to her shelf and rummaged around.

"Have I ever told you the story of the pumpkin monster?" She said, still searching. "This tale was told to me by some locals on one of my stops before coming here. The pumpkin monster was a regular pumpkin who somehow-no one knows how- was mutated into a hideous monster that hunts down and destroys anyone who dares gets close to his pumpkin patch." She frowned a little. "I know there here somewhere… aha!"

"What did you find?" Asked Emily.

Skylar turned around and held up what she was looking for- pumpkin masks with cut eye slits and evil smiles painted on them.

"What are those for?" Asked Carla.

Skylar smiled her special smile and stated, "They're for us. We're going to give the guys the scare of their lives. Listen closely…" The other girls listened closely as Skylar explained her plan. After she explained the other girls looked at each other with mischievous grins and evil glints in their eyes. They all agreed that it was a good plan. All accept one.

"I won't be able to go with you." Said Dorothy sadly. "I can't move on my own." Skylar grinned at the little rowboat. "You can't come Dorothy. You _have_ to come! You're the most important part of this plan." She explained Dorothy's important role.

The little rowboat wore a great big grin. "Let's do it! "She said excitedly.

Skylar grinned back at her, then at the rest of them. "Ladies- let's get ready for operation: Fright Night."

The night time sky illuminated the four guy tugs at their own sleepover at Cobequid Cove, much to Foduck's disproval because he thought that the cove wasn't very safe. Theodore and Hank assured him that the cove was indeed safe. George had told him that the cove was the perfect place to tell spooky stories and try to see who can scare who the most-which is what they were doing now. The told their stories and laughed when one of the tugs got too scarred. Unbeknownst to any of them, hidden behind the shadowy rocks, five masked figures were hiding.

Skylar chuckled an evil sounding chuckle. "This couldn't be more perfect." She looked at the others. "Ready?" The others nodded. "Ok. Positions everyone."

Emily, Carla, and Sigrid all got into their places doing their best to hold back their snickers and giggles.

Soft giggles emitted from behind Skylar. "Keep it down or they'll hear you."

"I'm excited!" Dorothy whispered, "Do I go on now?"

"Not yet." Skylar looked to the others and nodded. They nodded back at her then started to make moaning sounds. Skylar heard Theodore asking what that noise was.

"Just the wind." Was George's response.

The moaning sounds continued. Skylar could hear the Theodore and Hank starting to panic, Foduck telling George that he was right about the cove not being safe, and George arguing back that it was only the wind making those sounds.

As they kept moaning, the other girls looked to Skylar for the signal- two nods to mean that it was go time.

Skylar nodded twice.

The girls took off like rockets, roaring and making scary sounding noises. The guys spun around and came face to face with haunting looking pumpkin ghost boats.

" _AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

The screeches that emitted from the guys' throats were more girly than masculine. Emily, Carla, and Sigrid raced around the frightened tugs doing their best to be scary and trying very hard to not burst out laughing.

Skylar especially was trying very hard to hold back her mountain of laughter. She peered from behind the rock she was hiding behind and almost busted her boiler from holding back so much laughter. The looks of confusion and horror were hilarious!

"Do I go on now?" An anxiously awaiting Dorothy asked.

Skylar whispered, "In three… two… one… NOW!" Skylar pushed Dorothy, who was in front of Skylar and was facing front, out into the middle of all the chaos. All the guys stopped in their tracks, their mouths agape at the sight in front of them.

Dorothy wore a mask like the others but she had a little something extra. In her deck a long skinny pole held the body of an old and worn out scarecrow. The head of said scarecrow held a pumpkin with evil angry eyes and a malicious wide spreading grin.

" _ **AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH"**_

Skylar peeked out from behind Dorothy and let lose all the laughter she had been building up inside. Dorothy giggled loudly from behind her mask. The girls took off their masks and burst out laughing.

The rest of the night was a long one. Once Skylar and the other girls revealed themselves, Foduck plunged into a lecture about being reckless and that someone could have gotten hurt. A lecture that Skylar shut down immediately. Emily then chewed out George for not letting the girls join his sleepover which he quickly apologized for (he wouldn't have apologized that quickly but the stern look Skylar was giving him made him apologize). Theodore then suggested that they all have a sleepover here together, which no one was against. Not even George. The girls showed their masks' to the guys while telling them all about their sleepover and their operation: Fright Night.


	10. Constance's Thoughts

Summary: Skylar and Constance head out on patrol one evening

 **Chapter 9: Constance**

* * *

 **A/N: This doesn't really count as a chapter more like a short inner monologue bit, but I hope you like all the same. Please Like and Review!**

* * *

Skylar had asked to be with Constance on patrol that night. The Dispatcher didn't make her; she chose to be with her. Constance couldn't figure it out. Why would anyone want to be with her?

Constance was the Big Harbor's coast guard- a very serious ship with a very serious job who was much too busy to be friendly or nice. Skylar was an important safety tug who cracked jokes and seemed to not take things as seriously as she should be. At least, this is what Foduck had warned Constance about.

And he was right. During the whole patrol Skylar was making jokes non-stop. She joked about how boring it must be to be out here all alone staring at nothing but an endless ocean. Constance did her best to try to ignore what Skylar was saying. The only thing that came out of her mouth was, "We have an important job to do."

Constance's mind was the opposite of what she said to Skylar. She thought to herself how a tug like Skylar ever got an important title as safety tug like her? Why couldn't she just take this more seriously? If an emergency really did happen this very second, would she be able to rely on Skylar to help?

"You know I asked to be with you."

Constance's train of thought was interrupted. "What?"

"I wanted to come out here, in the middle of the night, to do the patrol with you. No one had to make me."

"Yes, I know." Constance said, thinking that Skylar was going to crack another one of her "jokes."

Skylar surprised her, which was rare since Constance hardly ever was surprised by anything. "I always hated this part of my job." Skylar said. "At my old harbor I was the only safety tug there so I had to do these patrols by myself. Never had anyone to talk to, or make jokes with, or anything like that. It's nice to be out her with someone, than to be all alone."

Constance didn't say anything for a while. At last she said, "Skylar. I'm glad to have someone go out on patrol with me."

That launched Skylar into a whole flurry of jokes. Constance even laughed at one.

As they were heading back to the harbor, Constance asked Skylar, "Skylar, what harbor are you from?" As soon as it left her mouth, Skylar's face grimaced. "I rather not say. For… personal reasons…"

Constance nodded and respected Skylar's wishes, even though she was a little bit curious about Skylar's old harbor. Perhaps, as they spent more time together on patrols, if Skylar still wanted to do them with her, she would tell Constance about her old harbor. She might even start to take her job more seriously.

And, perhaps, as she spent more time with Skylar, she might learn to laugh at some of her jokes.

* * *

 **I do plan on writing an adventure with Constance, Foduck, and Skylar, so you'll have to keep an eye out for that in the near future! :)**


	11. The Return pt 1

Summary: A familiar bully returns to the Big Harbor, and he's not alone.

 **Chapter 10: The Return pt. 1**

* * *

 **A/N: Don't worry WolftenDragon, I've got a Christmas story and a Valentine's story I'm working on for Foduck and Skylar. ;) Also, thank you for the nice comments!**

* * *

Even before the bad news, the day was already miserable.

The fall air was chilly. Dark grey clouds loomed overhead, threatening to open up and pour down rain on the harbor. The wind blew heavily, making it difficult for the boats to get in and out of the harbor. All week the weather had been nothing but storms.

Skylar and Theodore were helping George dock a tanker ship that morning. They grunted as the wind kept pushing the boat away from the dock. It took a while but finally, the tanker was properly docked. As they left Theodore asked George, "Are we done for the day?"

"Not yet," George said, "we have to make sure that Owen's cables are tied down."

Skylar looked up at the gray clouds above. "Weather's getting worse. We better make this quick."

When they reached Owen, Theodore gave a friendly whistle and called to Owen, "Hi Owen!"

"Hey Owen!" Skylar boomed. Owen the oil rig was a very loud oil rig. Skylar liked that she didn't have to keep her voice down, like she did with the other boats at the harbor. With Owen, she could talk to him as loud as she wanted to be and the oil rig would talk to her twice as loud.

But Owen looked down at the tugs with a worried look on his face. "I really hoped you wouldn't come by." He said in a concerned tone. "I don't want to have to tell you this. No siree-bob."

"What's wrong?" George asked, "Are your cables loose? Did something break?"

"It's not about me." He looked straight down at Theodore. "Oliver the Vast is coming back to the Big Harbor."

George snorted. "Why's he coming back here?"

Terror overtook Theodore's face. "Back? But- but the Dispatcher had sent Oliver back home to his harbor."

Owen sighed, "I don't know much about why he's coming back, but I do know that he's not coming back alone. Another tug's coming with him."

Oliver the Vast. So it was _that_ Oliver that Theodore feared. It was a name Skylar had hoped to never hear again. And he wasn't coming back alone…

Once they had made sure that Owen was secure, the tugs headed back to their dock just as the storm was starting to pick up. All that night, as the rain came down and the other tugs slept, Skylar was awake wondering who was coming with Oliver to the Big Harbor. Wally the Variant was strong and tough as Oliver but he was as smart as a sea slug, so her Dispatcher wouldn't have sent him. Mark the Vault would have been too lazy to go, let alone bother to come if her Dispatcher had ordered him to so he was out. She frowned. Oliver and Wally were the only ones who "worked" back at her old harbor so that would leave… no! No! Her Dispatcher would never send the Viking over to a little old harbor like this! The Viking was his favorite tug! He would never…

She felt something bump her. Theodore asked her quietly, "Can I stay with you tonight?" He was shivering a bit but Skylar could see that he wasn't shivering from the storm. Making room, she gladly invited Theodore in her dock. He snuggled next to her.

They watched the rain make ripples in the water and listened to the pitter-pater of the rain on the dock. Skylar could feel Theodore shivering like a Chihuahua in a lion's cage. She gently laid her ropes around Theodore and pulled him closer to her. "It'll be ok, Theo." She said gently. "Get some rest. I'll take care of Oliver for you in the morning."

Theodore rested his head against her. "Thanks Sky." He yawned right before falling asleep.

Skylar smiled softly as he slept, then gazed out at the horizon. She knew that she had to get the Dispatcher to send Oliver back out to her old harbor, along with whoever was coming with him. She decided to tell Theodore the truth about Oliver in the morning.

* * *

That morning immediately after the morning work meeting Skylar talked to the Dispatcher about Oliver coming back.

"Why's he coming back? He bullied Theo last time he was here. Besides that, there's nothing that needs to be done around here that we even need that jerk for!"

"Correction," said the Dispatcher, "the storm has caused several delays earlier this past week. Many of the cargo ships couldn't leave because the weather was bad. With all the other tugs busy with their own work for the day, we need every tug available to help get this harbor back on schedule."

"But why Oliver? You could have chosen any other tug to come help, but you choose _that_ guy!"

"Oliver was the only tug available. I am aware of how he treated Theodore when he last came, and I will not allow it to happen again. The Dispatcher from his harbor sent another tug to not only help, but to also keep Oliver in check."

This was the question that Skylar really didn't want to have to ask. But for Theodore's sake, she had to. "Who's the other tug coming with Oliver?"

The Dispatcher thought for a moment. "I forget what the tug's first name is… I know that it started with a K…"

"KELLY!?" Skylar said terrified.

"That's right. Kelly. How did you know that?"

Skylar yelled, "You can't let them come here! You have to send them back!"

The Dispatcher raised an eyebrow. "Her Dispatcher said that she was the finest tug in his harbor. She sounds like a fine tug boat to me."

"About as fine as slime." Skylar growled.

The Dispatcher looked at Skylar with a puzzled look on his face. "Now why would you say something like that? You've never even met her before."

"Yes I have." Skylar said in a very quiet voice, "Oliver and Kelly. They're from _my_ old harbor."

The Dispatcher's face turned into one of concern. "Skylar," he said, "Will you be able to work with them? I can't send them back since we need the extra help, but if you don't want to work with them I can pair them up with Emily or Foduck or…"

"It's fine. I can work with them. It's no problem Just- don't pair them up with anyone else." She started to float away before he could say anything else.

Skylar wanted to scream. Kelly the Viking was coming here. _Here._ Oliver was someone that Skylar could tolerate, but Kelly? Kelly was exactly like her V-word: a bandit who, instead of stealing treasure, stole the lives of those around her and gave them back ruined and messed up. If Oliver had told her about Theodore…

Skylar hurried to where Theodore was supposed to be working today- moving Barrington barge around the harbor and helping Hank pick up leftover debris from the storm. The smaller tugs were hauling in a giant branch. Skylar approached them like this was one of her usual greetings. "Hey guys."

Theodore and Hank looked up at her excitedly. "Look at the size of this branch!"

"It must be bigger than Benjamin Bridge!" Hank exclaimed.

Skylar chuckled a little. "Theo, can I talk to you alone?"

Theodore helped Hank load the branch on to Barrington and then he went over to Skylar. "Did you talk to the Dispatcher?"

"I did. He said that he can't send Oliver back because we need extra help cleaning up the harbor." She could see that he was trying to put on a brave face, but his eyes said that he was afraid.

"Theo I need to tell you something…" A tugs whistle suddenly filled the air.

A whistle that Theodore and Skylar unfortunately knew all too well.

Skylar spun around. Two tugs were making their way in the harbor. One of them wore a blue cap. The other- a light brown sun hat.

"Oliver." Theodore squeaked.

"Kelly." Skylar said uneasily.

"Who's 'Kelly?" Theodore asked nervously.

Skylar didn't answer. Seeing Kelly and Oliver made her frown. She felt like going over and demand that they return to the monstrous sea cave that they came from. Skylar didn't have to go over to them. They spotted her and were heading over. Skylar could feel Kelly's evil smirk piercing through her hull. She told Theodore to go back and finish his job with Hank.

"It's ok Theo. I'll handle it."

Theodore quickly hurried off. Oliver and Kelly approached Skylar like they were lifelong best friends. "Hi Sky!" Kelly spoke with her "I'm more perfect than you" tone that she always used around everyone else. It was a tone that Skylar knew was absolutely fake. A small growl escaped her throat.

"Hey Sky," Oliver said nastily, "was wondering how the Dispatcher got rid of all that smelly trash."

"Funny," Skylar retorted, "I was just wondering why the rest of the trash is here and not back there."

Oliver floated up to her, glaring. "I'm looking for a little tug with a red cap. Seen him?"

Skylar floated closer to him, glaring back. "If you're referring to my friend, then you'll back off. He's under protection."

"Who's protection?"

" _Mine._ "

"Oliver." Kelly nudged her way between the two glaring tugs. "Why don't you go let this Dispatcher know we're here? Ok?"

Oliver glared at Skylar for a few more minutes before doing what Kelly said. Kelly then turned to Skylar and looked at her disgustedly.

"Whatever you're up to," Skylar said, "don't even try it. The other tugs don't know you like I do. If you and Oliver try to hurt them, or even look at them the wrong way, I will make sure that you never get a second chance to do it."

"Believe me," Kelly spat, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere near these losers."

"Wouldn't want to be near who?" It was Hank. He saw the new tug and wanted to come say hi. "My name's Hank. What's yours?"

"I'm Kelly!" Kelly said happily.

"Hi Kelly! What were you saying about not being near something?"

"Oh it's nothing." She looked to Skylar with a fake cheesy smile on her face. "I'll see you later Sky! I just know we're going to have a good time together." With that, she floated away.

Hank said to Skylar, "Do you know her?"

"Hank." Skylar said seriously, "I don't want you or anyone else going near her."

Hank was puzzled. "Why? She seems nice."

"That's a joke." She said bitterly.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's go help Theo finish work."

"Theo isn't here."

"What?" Skylar said.

"Yeah. He said that he had other stuff that he had to do."

"Hank, I'll be right back." Theodore didn't have any other work to do. But she did know where he was.

* * *

Theodore was hiding under Owen the Oil Rig. Every noise he heard made him jump. Theodore didn't answer Owen when he asked him what was wrong. He kept thinking about all the nasty, mean things that Oliver did to him last time he was here.

No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't pretend that Oliver wasn't here. He was back and there was nothing he could do about it. What if Oliver tried to bump him again? The Dispatcher said to Theodore last time that he wouldn't always be able to help him; did this mean that Theodore was all alone?

The sound of an engine made Theodore's engine freeze. He backed up into a dark corner, trying not to make a sound. He tried not to breathe.

A familiar voice called out, "Theo?"

"Skylar?" Theodore was glad that it wasn't Oliver but he still felt scared. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Owen is my favorite place to be. Aside from my secret cave."

"You said you wanted to tell me something?"

Skylar floated over to him. "It's about Oliver…he's from my old harbor." She said that sentence like it was poison in her mouth.

Theodore was blown away. Someone like Skylar-sweet, nice, and friendly, and someone like Oliver- mean, unkind, and unfriendly; they were from the _same harbor!?_

"That can't be true! You're so nice! And he's so mean! How can you both come from the same place?"

"I don't know how."

"Who was that other tug with Oliver?" Theodore asked quietly.

"That was Kelly. She's…also from my old harbor."

The two floated there in silence. Theodore took a moment to take in what he just heard. The two tugs helping in the Big Harbor were both from Skylar's old harbor. He knew one of them was mean, he didn't know if the other one was as mean as Oliver… or worse… He also didn't know if she was nice like Skylar. "Is Kelly mean or nice?"

"Meaner than mean," Skylar said bitterly. "I just told Hank that I don't want you or anyone else going near her."

Two mean tugs. Here. And no Dispatcher to help him. Theodore blinked back the tears, trying not to show that he was scared.

Skylar could see that he scared and said in a reassuring tone, "It's ok that you're scared Theo."

"It…it is?"

"Yeah." Skylar continued, "But you have to remember that you have friends who care for you. And you have a Dispatcher that cares for you. And you have everyone in the harbor who cares for you. I promise you that Kelly and Oliver aren't going to hurt you or anyone else; because I'm not going to let them."

Theodore's face turned from one of fear to one of confidence. "And I'm not going to let them hurt you, either."

Skylar smiled, thankful that her friend cared for her. "Thanks. Now let's go back and help Hank finish cleaning up."

* * *

 **End of pt.1! Will Theodore be able stand up to Oliver? What is Kelly's evil scheme? Will the harbor ever get clean? All these questions will be answered in the next chapter!**


	12. The Return pt 2

Summary: A familiar bully returns to the Big Harbor, and he's not alone.

 **Chapter 11: The Return pt. 2**

 **A/N: This chapter is rated T for some violence and some intense moments. You've been warned.**

* * *

Hank was puzzled by what Skylar said. Why didn't she want him going near the new tugs? They seemed so nice and friendly, especially that girl tug, Kelly. And why did Theodore look nervous around the new tugs? He decided that after he was done with work, he would go and meet the new tugs. What was wrong with making new friends?

When Hank was done with work he searched for the new arrivals. It didn't take him long to find them. They were moving barges around and collecting debris. He whistled his happiest whistle and said cheerfully, "Hi Kelly!"

Kelly turned around surprised, then smiled. "Hi Hank!" She said.

Hank floated up to them. He noticed the other tug looking at him. He had a blue hat like Hanks but it was darker. Hank smiled at him and said, "Hi!"

The tug gave Hank a frown.

Kelly smiled at Hank and said, "That's Oliver. Don't worry, he's just being a big grouch." She raised an eyebrow. "Right, Ollie?"

He rolled his eyes and grumbled as he went back to work.

Kelly stuck out her tongue at him. "Meanie." She smiled at Hank. "So what's up Hank?"

"You're really nice."

"Aw! Thank you!"

"Yeah," Hank said, "Just like Sky. Are you and Sky friends?"

Kelly didn't say anything for a moment before saying, "Skylar and I aren't really 'friends'… she's not really nice to me."

"What do you mean?" Hank asked. "Skylar is my friend. She's nice to me."

Kelly sighed sadly. "That's how she gets you. She pretends to be your friend but she actually makes fun of you behind your back. She doesn't care about you or anyone. She's always been mean to me and I never did anything mean to her."

 _Is that true? Is Skylar like that?_ "Sky wouldn't do that! She's not mean!"

"I'm sorry Hank; that's just the kind of tug she is." She looked over at Oliver. "I had better get back to work. Ollie can't get all of this trash cleaned up by himself." She smiled at Hank and said, "I hope we get to see each other again soon. Just remember what I said about Skylar, ok?"

As Hank floated off, he thought about what Kelly said about Skylar. _Is she real just pretending to be my friend? Was she ever my friend? This isn't right, Skylar is a nice tug- nice tugs aren't mean to other tugs!_ He thought about Kelly. _Kelly is a nice tug and she's not mean. Maybe…maybe she is right about Skylar. Maybe Skylar is just pretending to be friends with me…_

* * *

Kelly watched Hank float away. Oliver heaved a branch on to a barge and then floated over to Kelly. "So are we still going hurt the little red head tug?"

"Forget him for now," Kelly said with a smirk, " _this one_ interests me."

* * *

Skylar helped Theodore finish work for the day. Instead of heading back to the dock they went to Skylar's cave and looked at her things. Skylar watch Theodore's face light up as he viewed the different trinkets and stuff she had collected from different parts of the world. He seemed to relax and return to his old happy self. She knew that his happy self would disappear as soon as he saw Oliver again. She decided to talk to Dispatcher and see if Theodore could work with her tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, before the morning work meeting, Skylar talked to the Dispatcher and asked him if Theodore could work with her. He told her that Theodore was already going to be working with George and Emily. Skylar was relieved; at least he wasn't working with Oliver.

Unfortunately, _she_ was working with him today.

Their job was to pick up any debris around the docks. It was a simple job, but Oliver made it his mission to make this minute-less task hard to do. He made it hard to even start it. Every dock they went to was the same: she would pick up some debris, he would take it back out, she would finally fill up the barge, and he would take his sweet time bulling the barge over to the next dock. He would also nag at her and call her names and pick on her and even bump the barge against her. It was like this almost all morning. By the time it was noon they had only cleaned up two docks. Skylar _really_ wanted to dump the barge's debris on top of him, but refrained from doing so. Mostly because there were too many witnesses.

Oliver came up beside her and bumped her. "Get the barge to the next dock." He said nastily.

Oh, yeah. She _really_ wanted to dump all that garbage on him.

As Skylar tugged the barge along, she saw Kelly and Hank off in the distance. Kelly was smiling her fake smile at him and he was laughing and tooting his whistle. Skylar narrowed her eyes. Why is Kelly being so nice to him? Skylar already knew that Kelly was only pretending to be nice so she wouldn't get in trouble with the Dispatcher- so what's her game this time?

"Hey dummy get moving!"

Skylar growled and unwillingly followed him. She made a mental note to stop by Guysborough's dock and see if he had any stinky trash she could use to "decorate" the dock Oliver and Kelly were staying at.

She glanced out at Hank and Kelly again. She knew Hank was a smart tug and she hoped that he would see past Kelly's fake self.

* * *

Hank liked working with Kelly. She laughed at his jokes and he laughed at hers. He told her everything about the Big Harbor, every dock and pole and everything. She listened and smiled at him with a great big smile. They even had a contest to see who could collect the most debris. Hank one and Kelly laughed and cheered.

 _What was Skylar talking about? Kelly is great!_

The pair made their way over to the beach, which was full of branches and other trash. They quickly got to work. Hank picked up the smaller pieces while Kelly picked up the big ones. While they worked both were unaware that the storm had caused one of the boulders by the beach to crack. The crack had slowly grown to the point where it would break off at any moment.

Hank was near that boulder picking up a branch and was about to head back to the barge when he heard a large crack and then suddenly something heavy fell on his deck. The weight thrust him on a slant and buried his hull in the sand. He was shaken a bit and it took him a few minutes to realize that he was stuck. The weight of the boulder pressed against the back of his head. He quickly cried out, "Kelly! Help me! I'm stuck!"

Kelly didn't seem to hear him, which was weird because she was only a few feet away.

He called out again, "Kelly! Help!" His deck ached against the boulders weight so he tried not to move.

Hank thought he saw Kelly looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She then took the barge and floated away.

"Kelly! KELLY!"

He watched as she disappeared around and out the cove. Why wasn't she helping him? Didn't she hear him calling out to her? Could she even have heard him? Was she ignoring his cries for help? He started to panic which cause the boulder on his deck to shift more weight on him, burying him into the sand a little more. Waves gently lapped against his bow.

He forced himself to calm down even though he was terrified. _Calm down Hank. Kelly didn't hear you because she's getting help. Yeah, that's it! She left to go get the other tugs to help. Everything is going to be ok._

Then why did he feel like everything wasn't going to be ok…

* * *

It was late that afternoon when Skylar and Oliver finally managed to get the docks clean. He sailed off somewhere but not before Skylar took him aside and threatened to throw him in Guysborough's garbage pile. Because he didn't know who he was Oliver seemed more confused than intimidated.

She finished dropping the barge off at its dock and was heading back to her dock when Theodore came rushing up to her. "Have you seen Hank? No one's seen him all afternoon."

"Let's check around the harbor."

They looked around the harbor and checked the Great Ocean Tug and Savage Company dock. There was no sign of Hank. "Maybe Kelly knows where he is," Theodore suggested, "they were working together today."

Grudgingly, she followed Theodore as he searched for Kelly. The eventually found her talking to Oliver. Theodore froze. Skylar floated in front of him. "Stay here." She approached the two tugs.

* * *

Theodore watched as Skylar talked to Kelly and Oliver. Even though Oliver briefly looked at him, Theodore mind flooded with all of the pas things the Oliver had done to him.

"You WHAT!?" Theodore realized that he spaced out for a bit and didn't hear what Skylar was saying. He did know that she was upset about it. "Why didn't you do anything?" She roared.

Kelly rolled her eyes and replied casually, "Do you really think I _care_ about the little pest?"

Theodore saw Skylar do something he never saw her do before. She backed up and gave Kelly a hard shove. She nearly tipped over.

"OW!" She cried out.

Theodore rushed up to her. "Skylar stop!"

Oliver snapped, "Get lost little tug."

Skylar gave him a hard shove, almost causing him to crash into Kelly. Skylar rammed herself against Kelly one more time then growled and said in a tone that frightened Theodore, "When I get back, I'm ending this." She stormed past Theodore and headed out to the edge of the harbor. Theodore was quick to catch up to her. He's never seen this side of her before. And it was scaring him. "Sky, what's going on?" He asked her.

Skylar spoke into her radio. " **Doc, I need you to meet me at the beach. It's an emergency.** "

Theodore was worried. "Emergency?"

"It's Hank. He's been hurt."

* * *

The sun was starting to get low when Foduck met Theodore and Skylar at the harbors entrance. As the three tugs raced for the beach, Skylar told him that Hank was hurt by a boulder. All three of them increased their speed. Foduck hoped that Hank wasn't badly hurt.

When the three of them made it to the beach they found Hank near the shore, his body slanted towards the shore, and his brows were drawn together in pain.

Foduck raced over. "Hank are you alright?"

"He's got a boulder crushing him doc," Skylar said, "clearly he's not ok!"

Hank grunted, "I-I'm ok. I think." He groaned. "My deck hurts."

"Stay calm, we'll get you out." Foduck turned to Theodore. "Theodore, Attach your tow rope to Hanks." Theodore did as Foduck said. "Skylar, you and I will wrap our ropes around the boulder. When I say so, we'll pull the boulder off of Hank as Theodore pulls Hank away. Understand?"

The two nodded and got into position. Foduck floated next to Skylar and wrapped his tow rope around the boulder. "Ready? On three… one. Two. Three!"

Skylar and Foduck pulled the boulder while Theodore pulled Hank. They all made sure not to pull too hard because they might hurt Hank. They kept tugging and soon, the boulder fell off of Hank's deck and into the water. Theodore gently pulled Hank out of the sand. He attached himself to Hank and the three of them went straight for the repair dock.

"I-I thought that nobody would come for me." Hank said wearily. "That boulder really hurt."

"Nothing is damaged, right?" Foduck asked concerned.

Hank slowly shook his head. "I don't think so."

Foduck was relieved that he was ok. Still…something about this didn't seem right to him. "Hank, how did that boulder fall on you?"

Hank explained, "Well, me and Kelly were cleaning up the beach and I was trying to move a branch that was near the shore and all of the sudden a large rock fell on me and I couldn't move. I called out to Kelly to help me but she floated away. I thought that she was going to get help, but she didn't." He then said in a puzzled voice, "I thought Kelly was my friend. Why didn't she help me?"

"She's a selfish tug that only cares about herself," Skylar growled, "I warned you not to go near her."

"I'm sorry, Sky." Hank said.

"Come on Hank, let's get you to the repair dock." Theodore said.

Foduck pulled Skylar aside as Hank and Theodore went ahead. "Who's Kelly?" He asked her.

Skylar's face clouded up with anger. "She and Oliver never should have come here! That idiot Dispatcher never should have allowed it to happen!"

Oliver? "Wait-Oliver is the tug who bullied Theodore, yes? George told me about him."

"Yeah. He and Kelly are from my _old_ harbor." Skylar said that like it was poison in her mouth.

Foduck looked at his friend with concern. "Skylar are you alright?"

She didn't say anything.

Foduck cleared his throat and said, "We better hurry back. The Dispatcher will worry about us."

That night, the Dispatcher told the tugs about Hank's accident. Everyone was relieved that he wasn't hurt, but he was going to be in the repair dock for a few days just until his deck was repaired. Foduck glanced over at Skylar expecting to see her happy and relieved that Hank was ok. Instead, her head was hung low and her eyes were lowered. The concerned look he had before came back. He wished she would just come to him and tell him what was wrong. All of the other tugs did it. So why couldn't she do it too? Was she shy? No- Foduck knew that Skylar was the complete opposite of shy. He watched her get into her dock. So what was the problem?

Foduck waited for the other tugs to go to sleep before going over to Skylar's dock. He gently nudged her. "Skylar?" He whispered. "Are you awake?"

She opened her eyes and sighed, "Yeah. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see if you were alright. You seemed upset earlier."

"Yeah."

"…Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Skylar said flatly.

"Ok." Foduck paused. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" _Why did I say that?_ He thought for sure that she was just going to laugh at him.

She surprised him. "Yeah… I guess so."

Foduck docked himself next to her. They both starred up into the night sky. The two of them floated side by side until they fell asleep. As Foduck started to sleep he hoped that Skylar would be able to tell him what was wrong.

* * *

The next morning the Dispatcher found out about what Kelly did and sent her and Oliver back to their harbor. Skylar wanted to know who told him. He said to her that Theodore was the one who informed him about it.

"He also told me that you shoved Kelly and Oliver and you made threats at them." The Dispatcher looked at Skylar with a serious and concerned way. "I know that they were from your old harbor and what you did might have gone unnoticed there but here at this harbor we do not tolerate that kind of behavior. You will stay here at your harbor and think about what you did."

Skylar mumbled something under her breath that he couldn't quite hear. "What did you say?"

Suddenly Skylar shouted at him, "Just shut up! You don't know anything!"

The Dispatcher was shocked and confused. Skylar raced off. "Skylar get back here!" She didn't listen to him. He sighed a frustrated sigh. The pilot boat at her old harbor did tell him that she would be a little hard to handle but he didn't think it would be this hard. He knew that he wasn't going to get through to her anytime soon. He decided that this afternoon he would have a meeting with the other tugs. He would need their help if he was ever going to be able to earn Skylar's trust.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow! This chapter was long! I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas/Christmas break/New Year!**


	13. The Meeting

Summary: The Dispatcher seeks the tugs help with Skylar

 **Chapter 12: The Meeting**

* * *

"I've called this emergency meeting because there is something I should have told you a while ago regarding Skylar."

The tugs were gathered around the Dispatcher-all except for Hank who was still at the repair dock- wondering what this meeting was all about. He briefly told the tugs about what happened to Hank and when he told Skylar he had dealt with Kelly and Oliver, she had stormed off. He didn't tell them about the threats she had made at Oliver and Kelly.

"I know that there is a lot of work to be done around the harbor, but this is something that I need to tell you now." He took a deep breath and spoke. "Oliver and Kelly ae from Skylar's old harbor: The Small Harbor."

"I've heard of the harbor on one of my ocean trips." Emily said. "It's a horrible place, full of mean tugs and grumpy ships."

"Yes, Emily, it is a horrible place. That's why Skylar's pilot boat called the Harbor Master and requested that she be transferred here."

"Transferred?" Theodore asked, "Why?"

The Dispatcher spoke in a soft but serious tone, "Because the boats at her harbor were hurting her. Verbally and physically."

All the tugs looked at each other with serious and concerned faces. Foduck, especially was concerned. _That's why she was upset last night,_ he thought, _Kelly and Oliver being here probably brought up some bad memories._

George asked, "Is there something we can do to help her?"

"For now, George, all we can do is give her some space. I'm sure she's had a rough couple of months trying to fit in here and bringing others from her old home only made things worse. If you do see her, just smile and try not to talk to her much. When she feels like talking, she will. Now, there's much work that still needs to be finished. Everyone back to work."

The tugs departed and headed back to their work sites. All except for Foduck. He knew that the Dispatcher had said that Skylar would want some space, but Foduck wanted to check in with his friend and try to see if maybe she would talk with him. Maybe he could try to help. He headed out of the harbor and straight to Skylar's cave-he had a hunch that's where she would be.

* * *

Foduck approached the cave's entrance. The inside was completely dark. Turning on his search lights he headed inside. He called out, "Skylar?" There was no answer.

He searched the cave until his search lights fell upon Skylar's familiar shape. Her eyes were fixated on the water.

Foduck floated up to her. "Skylar. Are you ok?"

Again, she didn't answer.

"The Dispatcher…he told us about your old harbor…and how you were being hurt…"

She kept gazing at the water.

"Skylar, you're my friend. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But I'm here to listen if you do want to talk."

He paused. "But it would help if you did talk to me. Please?"

Skylar looked up at him with a sullen look in her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it." She murmured, looking back down at the water.

Foduck nodded his head. "That's fine. You don't have to talk, I said that earlier." He looked at her thoughtfully and then said slowly, "I'll stay with you. I you want me too."

She didn't say anything. She looked back up at him and nodded. Skylar moved over a bit and he scooted next to her. The two floated there in silence as Foduck figured they always do. Foduck tried to think of something to say to cheer her up.

She quietly murmured aloud, "Having Oliver and Kelly here… it reminded me of Small Harbor…everyone there was mean and cruel….my old Dispatcher-he did nothing to stop it…..my only friend was my pilot boat, Paza…." A couple of tears slipped out of her eyes and down her face. "I miss her so much….."

Foduck didn't know what to say. What could he say? He couldn't just tell her that everything would be ok- for her, everything _wasn't_ ok. What could he do..?

Suddenly, he had an idea! "I'll be right back." He hurried out of the cave and back towards the harbor. In order for this idea to work, he needed some help.

* * *

Some time passed but Foduck soon returned to the cave. "Skylar?" He said outside the caves entrance. "Could you come here please?"

Skylar very slowly emerged from the cave and saw that all the other tugs- minus Hank- were there with concerned and worried faces.

"Skylar," Emily said, "We don't know what kind of mean things the boats at your old harbor did…"

"…but that doesn't matter," Theodore continued, "We're your friends and were here to listen to you and help you."

"Anytime you need us, we'll be there." George said. "If Hank were here, he'd say the same thing."

"We'll always be here for you Sky." Foduck concluded. "Don't ever feel like you're alone."

Skylar didn't know what to say. A couple of tears fell down her cheeks as she smiled and said softly, "Thank you."

Everyone smiled and let out a happy whistle. Foduck looked up at the sky. "It's getting late. We'd better head back to the dock." As everyone headed back Skylar came along side Foduck and whispered in his ear, "You're a good friend to me, doc."

Foduck nodded and tried to put on a serious face as he noticed that the others were looking at them; but on the inside, he was delighted to see Skylar with her normal mischievous-like-smile back on her face.


	14. Snowy Sky

**A/N: I know that it isn't Christmas yet, but I'm going to be busy on Christmas day, so I thought I might as well put this out now. It's just a short sketch involving Skylar and Foduck. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 13: Snowy Sky**

* * *

Snow fell gently over the Big Harbor one December day. The sky was a nice light gray color. The whole Harbor was decorated for Christmas. Colored lights were strung across Benjamin Bridge. The docks were decorated with wreaths and tinsel. The storage buildings had lights strung across them as well. The citizens of the Big Harbor were busy shopping for gifts, saying "Merry Christmas" as they passed by. The whole city was bathed in a luminescent glow from the decorations that covered every building and house.

The tugs were given a day off and they were about doing their own thing. Hank and Theodore were pretending to be ice ships, smashing up small chunks of ice that floated in the harbor. George and Emily were decorating their docks.

Foduck and Skylar were doing the safety patrol.

Skylar sighed. Leave it to Foduck to be the only tug in the whole harbor to want to do a safety patrol than to go out and have fun with their friends. Well, actually, the Dispatcher had told them that they were to go and do their routinely safety patrol, but Foduck could have said no.

The wind picked up, almost blowing Skylar's hat off. "Wind is kind of brisk, ain't it?"

Foduck's sonar equipment made "pinging" sounds, the way it always did when he was checking for danger. "A little windy, but nothing too serious. Thankfully, the weather will not interfere with our safety patrol."

"Well, that's fantastic." Skylar said sarcastically.

Foduck sighed. He never knew why Skylar didn't like the safety patrol. She was a safety tug like him! She should be having a good time patrolling the area on a cold winter's day!

Ok, so maybe she wasn't completely like him. She was far from it. But even a sarcastic tug like her could at least try to see the positive side of the patrol. Maybe he should try to help her out.

He slowed down, because he was ahead of Skylar, and waited for her to catch up so he could be next to her. He gazed up at the sky. "Look, it's snowing."

"Foduck. It's been snowing all day."

He realized that the minute the words came out of his mouth. "What I mean is it is snowing. And the snow falling lightly means that there's good weather. And good weather means that we can do the safety patrol without delay!" He smiled proudly hoping that little explanation helped Skylar out.

Skylar looked at him, confused. "Foduck. What are you talking about?"

A little embarrassed, he said, "I was just trying to help you see the positive side of this patrol."

She smiled, rolling her eyes playfully. She looked up at the sky for a while before saying, "If there is one positive thing on this boring patrol, it's that we get to see the snow fall."

Foduck looked up at the sky too. "I'm glad I get to be here with you, watching this."

Skylar playfully nudged him. "Don't get all sappy on me."

"What? No! I just meant that I am happy to be here with a friend watching the snow fall, together." His cheeks turned pink, and it wasn't from the cold.

"Ok… where is this conversation going?"

Sighing, Foduck mumbled, "Let's just get back to the patrol." They resumed their patrol, each wondering what the earlier conversation meant. Each gazing up at the snow peppered sky. Each with gazing eyes at each other. Each with cheeks turned pink, not from the cold.


	15. First Date

Summary: Foduck and Skylar spend the day together

 **Chapter 14: First Date**

* * *

Foduck never felt this way before. He was nervous, scared, and excited all at once. He normally felt this way every time he went on the safety patrol. But today was different. It was like those feelings inside of him were taking control, causing him to smile nervously and blush uncontrollably. His engine pounded and his smoke stack poured out smoke as he braced himself for what he was about to do.

He was about to ask Skylar out on a date.

This wasn't a last minute thing, or even a real date-he had planned this for weeks, ever since the Dispatcher had told them about Skylar's past. He had found her in her cave and, after talking to her, brought the other tugs and they all gave Skylar a much needed tug hug. Skylar had even told him that he was a good friend to her…that made him feel, well, weird inside-like his engine was warm and fuzzy. He thought these symptoms was just a bad case of heat rash or that there were barnacles in his boiler, but he was perfectly ship-shape.

So what was causing these weird symptoms to happen?

He waited for her near the harbor entrance. As he waited he went over all of the activities on his list that they would do together…unfortunately, the only activity that he could come up with was sailing around the harbor. Normally he would have a full itinerary planed out and ready to execute but he just couldn't think straight. His mind kept thinking about Skylar and her amazing smile.

He spotted her heading towards him and he instantly panicked inside. He told himself, _calm down Foduck! What's the matter with you? It's just Skylar! We're only going to sail around the harbor, that's all. There's nothing to worry about._

But what if there was? What if everything went horribly wrong? What if Skylar didn't want to be with him? What if she never wanted to be around him again!?

He took a deep breath and forced those thoughts out of his head. He told himself that everything would be fine, he and Skylar would have a nice day out, and he would help cheer up his friend. Everything would be fine.

He gulped, "I hope."

Skylar approached him with her usual mischievous smile. "Hey there, Doc. You radioed me earlier and said that you wanted to see me?"

Putting on his most serious face he confidently asked her, "Would you like to accompany me on a tour around the harbor?" Well, it sounded more like an awkward squawk.

She raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"Would you like to go sailing around the harbor with me?"

Skylar smiled, a little confused by his question. "Uh, isn't that what we usually do on patrol?"

"Well, yes, but I was wondering if maybe we could, um, skip the patrol and just float around?" Skipping patrol!? The words left a sour taste in Foduck's mouth.

Skylar looked at him, surprised by what he just said. "Not that don't mind getting out of doing patrol, but…well, going on patrol is your favorite thing in the whole world. You're completely obsessed by it!"

Foduck didn't say anything. He simply waited for her answer. He hoped that she would say yes.

Skylar thought about it for a bit. Finally, she said, "Ok, sure. Any excuse to get out of patrol is a good one."

"That's great!" Foduck said excitedly. "I mean- good. Very good." He cleared his throat. "Let's go then."

The two tugs started sailing along the edge of the harbor, quietly looking at the choppy waves rolling up from the sea. The sun shone brightly, adding extra heat to Foduck's already boiling interior. He decided to break the ice by asking Skylar a question. "So how is Hank doing? Has he come out of the repair shop yet?"

"He should be back by tomorrow." Her voice saddened a little. "I'm…I'm just glad that he's ok…"

If Foduck had a hand he would have slapped himself. Asking about Hank only reminded Skylar of what happened and it was the complete opposite of what he was trying to do! He was trying to make her happy, not sad!

He frantically searched for a different question to ask. Anything better than that one! Unfortunately his brain could only think of _uhh…_

"So…where just going to float around, or…" Skylar's eyes gleamed like she was thinking of an idea. "Maybe we could sail down to Sandy Beach?"

"Yes!" Foduck said quickly. "The beach is fine!" Skylar raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. He was glad that she had suggested something since he wasn't able to come up with anything. Again, he would have already executed a well thought out and planned itinerary but apparently his mind didn't want to function properly today.

The two made their way to the beach and floated around the cove, Foduck looked at the rocks surrounding the beach and Skylar gazed out at the sandy shoreline. Foduck soon realized that she was floating near the spot that they had found Hank stuck in. Skylar muttered in a low and quiet voice, "I knew that Kelly was pretending to be nice to Hank. I knew that she was going to hurt him. I just didn't know how…" Her voice grew a little shaky, "I…I should have been here to protect him…"

 _So that's why she wanted to come here. She's punishing herself for what happened to Hank._ Foduck quietly floated over next to her. His eyebrows pressed together as he pondered about what words to say for this situation. "Skylar…it's not your fault about what happened to Hank."

Skylar whirled around so fast that she almost hit Foduck. " _It is my fault!_ " She said in a guttural and raucous tone that scared Foduck. "He never would have gotten hurt if had just stopped him from working with Kelly. But because I wasn't, he was almost crushed!" She gazed down at the water, her voice growing shakier and quieter with each word she spoke. "It's my fault…it's all my fault."

Foduck looked her in the eye and said, "Skylar, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know that this would happen. The important thing is that Hank wasn't badly hurt and that he's going to be ok. It's not your fault, Skylar…and I don't ever want you to tell yourself that it was."

Skylar continued to look at the water, her lips were pressed together in a thin line, as if she were trying to consider what Foduck had said was true.

Foduck's gaze averted from her sad expression to the beach. He noticed that something was half-buried in the sand and half- uncovered. Upon further inspection he realized that it was some sort of seashell. He used his ropes to pick it up out of the water. The seashell turned out to be a small conch shell, with tan stripes wrapping around it. The inside of the shell was a beautify shade of dark pink that almost glowed in the sunlight. Foduck looked at the shell, then at Skylar, then at the shell, and smiled.

Foduck coughed loudly to get Skylar's attention. "*AHEM!*"

She glanced up at him.

Foduck held out the conch shell and said, "I, uh, I hope that maybe this can cheer you up."

The sad expression on Skylar's face was replaced by a one with wonder. She slowly took the shell from Foduck and gazed at it for a while. She then looked at him with gleaming eyes. A small smile formed on her face. "Thanks' Doc." She said in a small but happy voice.

A large smile spread across Foduck's face. His engine was pounding and his smokestack was pouring out smoke.

Skylar raised an eyebrow. "Are you feeling ok?"

Quickly, but awkwardly, Foduck regained his serious composure and answered, "Y-yes, I'm fine." He looked up that the sky. "Should we be heading back then?"

Skylar nodded in agreement and together the two tugs headed back to the harbor. As they floated along, Skylar floated close to Foduck. So close that his engine nearly exploded from pounding so hard. He didn't know why he felt like this when he was near Skylar. He didn't know why he was experiencing these symptoms like a pounding engine, or blushing uncontrollably, or why he wore a crazy, goofy smile.

But he knew that when he was with Skylar, he liked feeling like this.

* * *

 **Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!**


	16. Wave surfing

Summary: Skylar, Emily, and George go wave surfing

 **Chapter 15: Wave surfing**

 **Guest: I loved watching Thomas and Friends and Theodore tugboat as a kid, too. I had one Theodore VHS tape and several Thomas ones. My brother loved Thomas and me and my sister would watch them with him. The Theodore tape I had was the one where Candace goes on patrol with Theodore and Hank, the Emily and the sleepover episode, and the Foduck and the Shy Ship episode (my favorite episode out of the whole series).**

 **jriddle41: Do I ship Theodore and Emily…maybe ;)**

 **WolftenDragon: Happy you liked it.**

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The wind blew hard against the ocean that day at the Big Harbor. Skylar was working with Emily and George that day and they were just finishing bringing in and docking a supertanker. They were heading back to their docks when Skylar spotted some old sheets draped across a dock. She went over to the dock with George and Emily following her out of curiosity. Skylar held up the sheets like she had just found a treasure chest filled with diamonds and gold. She asked the other tugs if the sheets belonged to anyone.

Emily and George said that they didn't belong to anybody.

Skylar grabbed the sheets from off of the dock and placed them on her deck. She told the other two tugs to follow her. Confused, the two tugs followed her out of the harbor, where the water was choppy and rough. They watched with curiosity as Skylar tied one of the sheets to her mast. She instructed the other tugs to do the same.

Emily asked her why.

Excited, Skylar explained that they could use the sheets to go wave surfing. Seeing the confused looks on the tugs' faces she further explained that she used to go wave surfing all of the time at her old harbor. She would ride the waves like a roller-coaster, sometime riding a wave so high that it felt like she was flying.

Emily, who seemed interested at the idea, took a sheet off of Skylar's deck and tied it on to her mast. George snorted and thought that Skylar was being silly.

Skylar insisted that it wasn't silly and that George was being a scared chicken. George's engine rumbled and he said that he wasn't scared of anything! Skylar rolled her eyes and told him that he was so scared, he couldn't even ride _one_ little wave. George immediately accepted the challenge and grabbed a sheet off of Skylar's deck and tied it on to his mast.

The wind picked up and the three tugs were pushed forward. Emily had some trouble letting the waves move her and not using her engine and George was trying to get the mast to cooperate with him; but Skylarwas riding the waves with ease and grace, bouncing up and down like a rubber ducky in a bathtub. After a bit, Emily and George were riding the waves too, laughing and squealing from being splashed by the waves. They spent all afternoon leaping off the wave crests and splashing each other as much as they could. George had to admit to himself that this wasn't as silly as he thought-but he would never admit that to Skylar.

But he thought that sometimes, it's ok to be silly. And he was glad that today was that time.


	17. Star Gazing

Summary: Skylar and Hank go stargazing with Constance

 **Chapter 16: Star Gazing**

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 **Unkitty09: Aw! Thank you! Happy you like it!**

 **Train123: Aw! Thanks.**

 **kd: Yeah, I haven't really done anything with Emily and George so having them be with Skylar for a chapter was sweet and I hope to make more chapters like it.**

 **WolftenDragon: lol, George and Emily tend to argue a lot in the show but they forgive each other really quick, almost like the fight never happened, and, well, that gives them an interesting friendship.**

* * *

The sun was starting to set that night in the Big Harbor. Pink and purple clouds swatched across the sky like an artist painting a masterpiece. The colors blended together with the clouds in a breath taking way that would make even the hardest working boat stop and stare and marvel at its beauty.

Hank, however, didn't care how nice the sunset looked. All he cared about was how slow the sun was setting. He waited in front of his dock, swimming back and forth in place, and glancing up at the sun every two seconds. "Common…" Hank frowned at the setting sun. "Can't you go down any faster?"

Hank had a reason for being so impatient-tonight was the night that he and Skylar were going stargazing. Skylar had promised to take him earlier that week, but she wasn't able to on account of her working all night on the night shift. But tonight, Skylar had managed to convince the Dispatcher to let Hank come with her.

With a sigh, Hank glanced out at the sun. It was almost behind the horizon line. The sun seemed to be teasing Hank by going down as slowly as it possibly could.

It seemed like forever, but finally, Hank heard the familiar rumble of the Skylar's engine. He turned around and saw Skylar heading his way. "Sorry I'm late," She said, "I had to finish up some work. You ready to go?"

Hank nodded his head up and down so fast that he thought it was going to fall off. "I've been waiting all day, Sky! And all week!"

Skylar smiled, "Great! Let's get going."

The two tugs made their way out towards the edge of the harbor. Hank bobbed up and down with excitement. "We're going to have so much fun tonight!"

"You bet we will." Skylar said.

"We'll see so many stars in the sky and maybe a comet, too!" He grinned and then exclaimed, "Maybe we'll even see a spaceship!"

Skylar chuckled lightly. "Maybe."

As the two reached the end of the harbor, Skylar slowed to a stop. Hank slowed down and pulled up beside her. "Why are we stopping?" Hank asked.

"We have to wait for Constance. I'm doing the night shift with her out in the ocean."

Hank wrinkled his nose. Constance would be with them? He had nothing against Constance- she was the coast guard ship after all and she did help keep the ocean safe. It was just…well, she was just so serious all the time. Constance was so serious that she made Foduck look fun and silly.

Hank then saw Constance heading their way. "Common," Skylar said to Hank and the two floated towards her.

Constance was a little surprised to see Hank. "Shouldn't you be back at your dock?" She asked.

"I and Skylar…were going to go star gazing together." Hank said nervously.

"I promised Hank here that I would take him stargazing this week," Skylar explained, "but I've been swamped with work this week that I decided to take him tonight, just in case I was busy the rest of the week. And I've already asked the Dispatcher if he could come, and he said yes."

Constance looked over at Hank and then at Skylar. "Alright. As long as he behaves himself."

"He will," Skylar said, glancing over at Hank, "Isn't that right?"

Hank nodded. He liked goofing off with Skylar. But being around Constance meant that he wasn't allowed to have any fun with Skylar tonight. He would have to be just as serious as her.

The trio then made their way out towards the ocean. All was silent for the longest time as Hank floated along. The only sound he could hear were his own engine and the waves gently lapping against his hull. Skylar noticed how quiet Hank was and asked him, "Hey, Honk, are you ok?" 'Honk' was Skylar's nickname for him. She had a nickname for everyone: Theodore's was 'Theo', George's was 'Big G', Emily's was 'Em' or 'Emma', and Foduck's was 'Mr. Grumpy-No fun-Party Pooper-Stick in the Mud, the First and Only."

"Oh, I'm fine." Hank said, but it sure didn't sound like he was fine.

"Look up at the sky," Skylar said, "It's a beautiful night for stargazing."

"We're supposed to be patrolling the ocean." Constance said.

Hank frowned while Skylar rolled her eyes. "Relax, Constance, we are. We were just admiring the night sky. I did tell you that I was taking Hank stargazing."

" _After_ your patrol." Constance noted.

"Yeah, yeah." Skylar sighed, looked over at Hank, and gave him a mischievous smile. "Relax. She may seem serious on the outside, but Constance is nothing but a big ol' softie."

Constance said stiffly, "And you are a troublemaker and an official safety tug who doesn't take her job seriously."

"Hey!" Skylar said, "I _do_ take my job seriously. I just have more fun doing it than you do."

Constance sighed a frustrated sigh and continued patrolling.

Silence fell over the trio again as they continued the patrol. Hank thought about what Skylar had said. Was Constance really a fun to be around? Skylar had been around Constance longer than Hank had, so maybe she acted differently in front of other boats. Maybe she didn't know how to have fun? _No,_ Hank thought, _that's silly. Everyone knows how to have fun…right?_

A sudden gasp from Skylar broke Hank away from his thoughts. She was staring up at the sky with amazement. "Canis Major!"

"Canis what?" Hank asked, confused.

"It's a constellation! Look up! Constellations are groups of stars that look like things."

Still confused, Hank looked up at what she was looking at, but all he could see was stars. Some stars were in groups, but they didn't look like anything to Hank. They only looked like, well, a group of stars.

"Don't you see it?" she asked excitedly.

"No."

"There! See? Those stars look like a dog."

Hank looked harder and soon, he saw a group of stars that, when connected together, looked like a dog. "I see it!" He exclaimed happily.

"See what?" Constance floated over to them to see what was going on.

"Up there," Hank said, "It's a dog!"

"The stars _look_ like a dog." Skylar chuckled.

"The stars look like stars." Constance said sternly at Skylar. "And it looks like you aren't doing your job."

"Hey, I am doing my job!"

"Then stop this silly nonsense and get back to patrol." Constance turned around and was about to patrol the ocean again…

Skylar frowned but then smirked and said in a loud voice, "I doubt you could find a constellation if it was right in front of your hull."

This made Constance stop. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Skylar stated, "and I'll make you a deal- if you can find one constellation in the sky, I'll be as serious as you for a whole week! And if you can't, you'll have to take a break from patrol tonight and have fun with me and Hank."

Hank didn't know if that was such a good idea. But he was curious to see Constance with a less serious attitude.

Constance thought about it for a bit. Then she turned around. "Alright. Just one constellation?"

Skylar nodded.

Constance gazed up at the night sky and began her search. Hank and Skylar watched as she searched the sky with sharp eyes looking back and forth like a fine tooth comb. A moment had passed and Hank started to wonder if Constance would ever find one? Maybe all of the constellations had gone into hiding?

Constance suddenly gasped, "Ursa Major!"

"Ursa what?" Hank asked, puzzled. Why did constellations have to have such weird names?

Constance lightly chuckled, which surprised Hank. He didn't think she was capable of laughing. "Ursa Major," Constance explained, "is known as the 'great bear' because when you connect the stars it looks like a bear." It took Hank a while for him to spot it.

"I see it now!" Hank said.

Skylar smiled, happy that Constance was having a little fun with them, but she knew that she had made and lost the deal. "Well congrats, Constance. You found one constellation. I now have to be as serious as you for a whole week…this is going to be torture."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Constance's lips. "Foduck will be pleased when he hears the good news."

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 **I liked the nicknames Skylar gave the tugs and I hope to use them more, especially Foduck's lol.**


	18. Fun During the Storm

**jriddle41: I will consider making that chapter.**

 **WolftenDragon: I guess you'll just have to wait and see how Foduck reacts.**

 **kd: Thanks, happy you liked it!**

 **Train123: Thanks! Happy you like it!**

 **Thank you everyone for all of the likes and comments**! **And thank you WolftenDragon for the amazing fanart of my Theodore Tugboat fanfiction. If you guys want to see it then copy/past this link into your search box:** funstorytime127/favourites/77086525/FAN-S-FANFICTION-ART

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It was quite windy during the morning work meeting. The tugs struggled to hear the Dispatcher as he gave out that morning's assignments. The wind whipped around their ears and blocked out most of what the Dispatcher was saying.

Emily, who was next to Skylar, asked, "Do you know what he's saying?"

Skylar raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"I said," Emily said louder as she tried to be heard above the wind, "do you know what he is saying?"

The other tugs strained to hear what Emily, or anyone, was saying. "What!?" Skylar shouted. Puzzled looks and confused voices occurred all at once.

"I said – can any of you hear me!?"

"What did she say?"

"I can't hear you!"

"Hear what?"

"WHAT!?"

"What did you say? What is anyone saying?"

"What is going on?"

"What is happening?!"

Their radios suddenly all buzzed to life and the Dispatcher's voice rang through. **"Tugs, can you hear me now?"**

Everyone replied, **"Yes."**

 **"Good. As I was trying to say, a large cargo ship is heading towards the harbor, but with the weather acting the way it is, a storm is definitely starting to form. So, it's imperative that we bring it in as quickly as possible. Theodore, Skylar, Foduck, George – you four will bring in the cargo ship while Emily and Hank make sure that all of the other ships in the harbor are safely tied down to their docks. That is all. Please be careful."**

Theodore, Skylar, George, and Foduck left but made sure to keep their radios on, since the wind as making it difficult for them to hear each other. The trip out to the ocean was a silent one as everyone stayed focused on the task at hand. Even Skylar was in a serious mood which was to Foduck's surprise and relief. Not that he didn't enjoy Skylar's jokes (quite the opposite; he would just never admit that he liked them, especially to Skylar) but this was a serious job and it was nice to see that Skylar was talking her duties as a safety tug more seriously. That, and, he was told, by Constance and a reluctant Skylar, about their little "deal" and how Skylar was supposed to act serious for the rest of the week.

Seen from the horizon, the cargo ship looked like a tiny dot. But when the tugs got closer to it, they were stunned by the size of the massive ship. Theodore couldn't think of any words to describe its size. "Large" and "Gigantic" felt too small compared to its size. **"The ship is almost half the size of the Queen Stephanie!"** Theodore exclaimed to the others.

Skylar asked, **"Who's Stephanie?"**

 **"I'll tell you later,"** Foduck said, **"right now we need to get this ship into the harbor before the storm hits."**

The tugs quickly attached themselves to the ship (Foduck and Skylar in the front, Theodore and George in the back) and began towing him towards the harbor. They huffed and puffed as the ships weight strained against their tow ropes and them.

 **"After we get back,"** Skylar huffed, **"I'm making this guy go on a diet!"**

Little drops of rain announced that the storm was starting to unleash itself. But soon, those little rain drops transformed into hull pounding waves and blustery winds. Rain fell as hard as nails and stung like needle pricks against the tugs' faces. The cargo ship bobbed up and down like an uncontrollable bath toy. The tugs found it challenging to keep themselves steady and balance the ship in order to keep it from tipping over.

 **"Foduck!"** George shouted into his radio, **"the storm is getting worse!"**

 **"We can't keep sailing through it!** Theodore added, huffing and puffing.

 **"We need to find shelter!"** Skylar grunted as she tried to keep herself steady.

Foduck nodded. **"Agreed!"** He turned on his equipment and listened. **"There are some sea caves nearby. We're too far away from the harbor and the storm is getting worse. We'll tie down the ship and seek shelter until the storm calms down."**

The gang grunted as they steered the ship in the direction Foduck wanted them to go in. Their hulls were sore, and their faces stung from the rain. Their cheeks were bright red from all of the tugging. As blind as bats, they listened to their radios and trudged on through the pelting rain and waves. It felt like forever until Foduck announced that they were approaching the cave. As quick as a mouse, the tugs tied down the ship to a nearby rock, made sure that its towropes were secure on the rock, and scurried inside the cave.

A wave of relief fell over the tugs bodies as they were finally given a break from all of the heavy tugging. Theodore glanced over at the falling rain and said, "It's really windy out there. Thank goodness we can hear each other in here and we don't have to use our radios."

Foduck listened as his safety equipment scanned the area. "We aren't in the worse part of the storm, but we're near it. It's too dangerous to keep sailing through the storm – the cargo ship could flip over and crush us if a wave were to suddenly hit us. The storm is interfering with our radios so we won't be able to contact the Dispatcher."

"So, what you're saying is," George said, "we're stuck here."

Skylar and Theodore looked over at Foduck.

"Yes, George," Foduck said seriously, "we're stuck here until the dies down."

"H-how long will that take?" Theodore asked nervously.

Foduck signed. "A few hours, maybe?" He glanced out of the caves entrance. "I honestly don't know the exact number of minutes we'll be in here, Theodore, but I do know that we are going to be here for a long time."

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Rain battered down from the sky and struck the waves like they were drums. Theodore was with George and Foduck near the back of the cave and was listening to them as they talked. Skylar was looking at the raging storm outside. She gazed out at the storm and watched in awe as the waves crashed into each other. The ripples from the rain made the water vibrate and look alive. A bolt of lightning flashed across the violet sky like a giant hand reaching across the sky. Sky thought it was amazing and horrible all at once.

Thunder followed the bolt as well as a whimper. Skylar looked next to her and saw Theodore shivering from cold. He nervously looked out the cave, wincing when it thundered again. With her tow ropes, she gently drew him to her side and gave him a half - smile. "Thunder's pretty loud ain't it? Almost as loud as me." She chuckled. "But it's not nearly as loud as George, though."

Theodore let out a nervous little chuckle.

"Theo? You ok?"

"I'm fine." Theodore looked back out at the storm. "The cave is very cold."

"Yeah, and this weather isn't helping much, is it?" Skylar looked over at Foduck and George. She then looked back at Theodore. The storm wasn't going to end for a while so she needed a way to entertain Theodore until the storm passed. Plus, she was bored and anything was better than staring at the stalagmites on the ceiling. An idea suddenly popped into her mind and the corners of her mouth quirked up. "Hey Theo, 'wanna play a game?"

Theodore perked up a bit. "What kind of game?"

"A guessing game. We take turns guessing what George and Doc are saying, but we have to say it in their voice."

Theodore grinned. This sounded like a fun game. "Ok!"

"Great! I'll be Doc and you can be George. I'll go first." She studied Foduck's lips for a bit before she made her guess. In a soft tone, sarcastic-like serious voice, she growled, "George, the weather outside is bad. _Very, very, bad!_ We should give it a time out because it's not being safe!"

A few giggles escaped from Theodore. "That was pretty good. But, does Foduck really sound like a monster growling?"

Skylar smirked. "Yes, yes he does. Especially when he gets upset at me on patrol for not taking it seriously enough. Ok, your turn."

Theodore studied George's lips before making his guess. "It is very bad Foduck! But I don't know what to do because I am very scared!" He said it in a soft, high-pitched, scared voice.

The two tugs snickered and giggled like school girls. Their laughter caught the attention of the two tugs that they were making fun of. Frowns formed on their faces.

"Skylar," Foduck said irritably, "I do not sound like that."

"And I don't sound like a scarred little girl, Theodore." George added.

If Skylar had arms she would have crossed them over her chest. "Really? Think you two could do our voices better?"

"Yes!" George and Foduck said.

"Really? Prove it!"

"Fine!" George boomed, "I'll go first." He cleared his throat and spoke in a mouse-like voice, "Hello everyone! I'm Theodore!"

"That doesn't sound like me at all!" Theodore objected.

"Relax Theo," Skylar said, "He's not making fun of you. It's all in good fun."

"My turn." Foduck announced. He cleared his throat and was silent for a moment. He looked Skylar square in the eye. And then, in the most girliest voice anyone ever heard, he screached, "I'm Skylar and I don't like to listen to Foduck and I don't take the safety patrol seriously, blah, blah, blah!"

Everyone looked at him with stares as blank as notebooks.

Laughter erupted from the group like a volcano. Their guffaws echoed around the cave, especially Skylar's. Embarrassment filled the safety tugs face; his cheeks burned bright red as he mumbled, "It's not that funny."

Skylar tried to catch her breath. "I-I know, it's just, it's so funny I, I- I can't stop laughing! I- I sound like that to you!? That's hilarious!" She giggled uncontrollably until tears started to form. But then, from behind misty eyes, she saw Foduck looking ashamed and embarrassed. She slowed her giggles to a stop and sighed, "But it was good effort."

Foduck smiled a little smile. "Thanks."

Skylar smiled back at him.

"Can I try to sound like Foduck now?" Theodore asked.

Foduck smiled. "Sure, Theodore. Give it your best shot."

The hours passed as the storm continued to rage on, but the occupants inside the cave weren't bored or scared. They played games and entertained each other until the skies finally started to clear up and the four tugs were able to return home with the cargo ship, still laughing and smiling as the moon slowly rose up into the night sky.


	19. Request: Day at the Waterfront

**Request for WolftenDragon. This is an AU (alternate universe) story and the TT characters are human. You can see their designs on my DeviantArt page. Just Google "funstorytime127".**

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Skylar opened the door of the storage room and set the boxes down. With a grunt, she straightened out her back and then dusted off her police uniform. "Ok," she called out, "that's the last of 'em."

Foduck came in the room and set down the box he was carrying. He and Skylar were at Shediac, the Shipyard Shack and they had just finished their morning's work of chores unloading boxes from a freight boat. He wiped the sweat from his thick, brown hair and breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Did Theodore and Hank get their chores done for the day?"

Skylar nodded. "Yep. Emily and George are visiting the boardwalk for the day, so…" The corners of her lips slowly turned up. "I guess we have the day all to _ourselves._ " She mused, wearing her usual mischievous smile.

Foduck's cheeks blushed. "Uh…yes, I suppose with everyone gone for the day, we are the only Great Ocean Tug and Salvage Company Dock workers left…here…together…" He adjusted the collar of his fireman uniform like he was nervous.

"Great! Say!" Skylar rubbed her chin like she was getting an idea. "Why don't we go grab a bite to eat? I know a great little restaurant near the Halifax waterfront."

"I…uh…"

"I'll take that as a yes." She dusted her hands off. "Well then, let's get out of our work clothes, throw on something casual on, and enjoy the best lobster you'll ever have in your entire life!" Before Foduck could say anything, Skylar sprinted out of the room and towards their sleeping quarters near the docks.

Foduck slapped his forehead and groaned. A whole afternoon alone with Skylar Valorous? He couldn't do this. He searched for reasons not to—his friends were busy with their own activities. Work? No, he and Skylar had just finished everything that they needed to get done that day. The Dispatcher? It was a long shot but maybe he could find some sort of task for him to complete.

He quickly fished his flip phone out of his pant pocket, dialed the Dispatchers office number, and held the phone to his ear. Foduck knew that the Dispatcher would be there; the guy was in there every day that it would be safe to assume that he lived there.

The phone buzzed and then picked up. "Hello?"

"Mr. Dispatcher? Sir? I was calling you to ask if you had any more work that you needed me to do?"

"I don't think so. Did you and Skylar complete your task at the ShipYard Shack?"

"Yes sir, we did." Foduck hoped that the Dispatcher would find something for him to do.

"Hmmm…" There was a pause, "Let's see…Theodore and Hank have completed their tasks; as well as George and Emily. I'm sorry Foduck, but there's nothing else that I need you to do."

Foduck groaned inwardly. There has to be _something_ that the Dispatcher needed him to do! "Are you sure? Isn't there _anything_ that you need me to accomplish? Anything at all!?"

"No, Foduck, I don't have anything else that I need you to do today. You have a free afternoon. Are you all right? You sound worried."

The Dispatcher heard Foduck sigh loudly. "It's…well, it's Skylar. She was so excited about having the afternoon off that she asked me to go with her to a restaurant near the waterfront!"

The Dispatcher smirked and stroked the corner of his English mustache. "So what your saying," he said, "is that she asked you on a _date?_ "

He heard Foduck choke on the other line. "What!? N-no!"

"It sounds like a date." The Dispatcher adjusted his dress shirt collar.

"It is not!" Foduck protested. "It can't be…can it?"

"Afraid so."

"But-but that's impossible! Skylar is my friend but she doesn't _like me_ like me." He stopped. "Does she? We always spend time together and go on patrol together, but we've never done anything like this, so why now? Please, sir, I don't understand and I could really use an excuse to not find out why."

The Dispatcher removed his hat and ruffled through his black, well-kept hair. Foduck was the smartest worker in his team, but when it came to something like love, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Foduck, listen. Skylar is an amazing woman who really cares about you. She was abused at her old workplace but you, Hank, Theodore, Emily, and George befriended her and helped her find a place at the Big Harbor. She's been with you on the daily patrol routines and the two of you have gotten to be close friends. Now she's wanting to take that a step further—she wants to be _more_ than friends. I think the reason that she's asking you out now is that she's afraid that she'll be rejected and alone just like she was at Small Harbor. Long story short, just go out and have a good time. Be her friend like you have been since she's been here. Now, if you'll excuse me I have some paperwork I need to complete. You'll do fine Foduck. Just be yourself. Oh! And wear something nice. You are going out after all. Goodbye now."

Foduck hung up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. How did Skylar manage to get him in these situations? He sighed. Well, if he was to go on with this, he had better head back to his quarters and put on something decent.

* * *

Skylar finished brushing her messy obsidian hair and was now adjusting her ponytail. She took a step back and examined her outfit: Dark pink hoodie with gray jeans and black sneakers. She smiled. It was the perfect Skylar casual outfit.

Her eyes gazed into her mirror and she frowned. Why was she doing this? Putting Foduck out on the spot like that? She didn't even give him a second to think about whether or not he wanted to go out. She moaned. Why was she like this around him? She could have been considerate and waited for him to give her an answer; but no, she sprinted out the door and straight to her quarters before he could say no. Would he say no? No, he wouldn't say that to her? Was that what he was going to say before she left? Worry furrowed her eyebrows. She slowly took in a deep breath. No. She wasn't going to do this. She forced the dark thoughts into the far corners of her mind and she forced a smile on her face. She was going to go out and have a good time with her best friend.

Several raps were rung across her door. She left her room and opened the door. Her eyebrows widened with surprise. "Uh…doc..?"

Foduck nervously adjusted the red tie on his black tuxedo. He nervously smiled at her and asked, "Well…do I look casual enough?"

Skylar stifled back a giggle. Leave it to Foduck to take something simple like a casual day out and turn it into a big fancy attire event. She gave him a lopsided grin and snickered. "Yeah Doc, you look fine."

He frowned. "Are you sure? I wanted to make sure that I looked presentable when we go out and…" He looked at Skylar's outfit. "And I'm now realizing that the meaning of 'casual' meant something else." He looked a little embarrassed.

She reassuringly patted him on the shoulder. "Relax Doc, you look fine." Relief filled his face.

Skylar gently grabbed his hand. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

* * *

The sky was a beautiful ultramarine blue. Small crowds walked up and down the docks of the Halifax waterfront. Children laughed as they ran towards the carnival game attractions. Couples held hands and walked stride for stride as they observed the waterfronts view of the Big Harbor and the ocean beyond it.

Foduck tapped the corner of the table impatiently. Their waiter was supposed to be back here with their drinks 20 minutes ago. So where was he? His eyes darted across the table. Skylar propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin against her palm. She wore a slightly bored expression. Foduck chewed his lip. What would be a good icebreaker for a conversation?

"So…nice weather we're having?"

"Hmm..?" Skylar glanced up and then back down. "Yeah, it's nice."

Foduck groaned inwardly. Not exactly an icebreaker—more like an ice chipper. He observed the scene around him. The restaurant was a small one with fading light blue paint. Wooden tables were spread out across the front and side. Each table had a white tablecloth with salt/pepper shakers and a vase with flowers as a centerpiece. Dark blue umbrellas were propped up to keep the bright sun out of the customers' eyes. Foduck's eyes wandered over to the ocean horizon. "Look. The view of the ocean here is amazing."

Skylar's eyes looked at the horizon. A small smile formed on her lips. "It is amazing."

The waiter then arrived with their waters and Skylar and Foduck ordered their food—two lobster platters with fries on the side. The two picked at their food for a few minutes, their eyes glancing up at each other and then back down at their food.

Foduck smiled nervously and then cleared his throat (several times). "I—"

"I'm sorry." Skylar apologized.

Foduck was taken aback. "What? What are you talking about?"

Skylar waved her hand in a circle. "All of this. I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that. I…I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't even give you the chance to say whether or not you had your own plans for the afternoon."

"No, no, no, it's fine!" Foduck sputtered out quickly.

"No. It's not fine." Skylar sat up straight and folded her hands on the table. "The reason I wanted to bring you here was to tell you that I really appreciate what you and the others have done for me. You took me in and gave me a home. It doesn't seem like much but it is to someone like me; someone who didn't have a home at their home." She shut her eyes. "I was alone…I didn't have anyone that listened to me or even cared…" She opened her eyes and faintly smiled. "But you cared about me and you also listened to me. You even put up with my silly jokes and pranks."

Foduck lightly chuckled and then raised his glass to his lips.

Skylar said slowly, "What I'm having a hard time saying is that…well…I like you Doc."

Water spewed out of Foduck's mouth. He gagged and coughed violently. Skylar grabbed her unused napkin and hurried over to Foduck. A few people got up out of their chairs and asked if there was anything that they could do to help. Skylar waved a dismissive hand and handed Foduck her napkin. "Doc, are you ok? What the heck happened!? Was there a bug in your water or something?"

"N-no." Foduck coughed, wiping his mouth. "I'm fine—" He coughed and wheezed for a few more minutes, then he took in a couple of deep breaths. "I'm-I'm good. Thanks, Skylar."

The waiter quickly rushed over and asked, "Is everything all right here?"

"Yes," Skylar said. "Everything's ok. Thanks."

As soon as the waiter left, Skylar returned to her seat. "If there wasn't a bug in your drink then why did you choke on it?"

Foduck didn't answer. He looked into her eyes and then said softly, "It's because…well…I like you too Skylar." His mouth curved into a small smile. "I _like you,_ like you."

Eyes widened with joy and surprise as Skylar's face brightened. Her cheeks flushed as she nervously chuckled. "T-that's good to know. Why don't we eat our meal before it gets cold?"

Foduck quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, let's eat." He picked up his fork and was about to stab it into his meal when a claw snapped at him at him, swiped his fork away and lept onto Foduck. Foduck screamed as he bravely tried to fight off his angry meal. Skylar hugged her belly she laughed so hard as the lobster was doing all that he could to thrust the fork into Foduck's neck and Foduck was doing all he could to prevent that from happening.

After that little fiasco, the two decided to take a little walk around the docks. They strolled along, matching stride for stride, holding hands and taking in the scenes around them. Skylar kept laughing about the lobster while Foduck's cheeks burned with embarrassment. They walked for some time until they found a little bench near the edge of the docks. They sat down and watched the sunset from across the horizon. Streaks of pink and orange struck across the sky like a beautiful watercolor painting.

Skylar scooted close next to Foduck, resting her head on his shoulder. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He straightened himself out to make sure that she was comfortable.

"I had a really nice time today," Skylar mumbled happily.

"I uh, I had a really nice time today as well." Aside from the evil lobster incident, he did have to admit that he did have a good time.

Then it happened—it was so fast that it took him a few minutes to process what happened. Skylar leaned upward and planted a small kiss on his cheek. His face exploded in a bright cherry red. Awe and shock transformed his face.

Skylar smiled warmly. "I love you Doc."

Foduck slowly pulled her in and the two shared a small, sweet kiss.

He smiled back at her. "Yeah, I love you too."


	20. Cleaning Day Confessions

**Shout out to Marleetheartist and WolftenDragon on DeviantArt! Thank Wolf for the amazing fanart! It makes me so happy to know that you guys like these stories. You guys are so kind and nice! Thank you for your kind words, they help me to keep going when I feel like giving up. Thank you.**

* * *

It was a fairly cloudy day as Skylar the Valorus was just finishing up her patrol duties. She was humming a little tune while she floated towards the Big Harbor's entrance. She was heading over to her cave. She planned on cleaning out her little treasure trove, figuring out what treasures were junk and which ones weren't. She was halfway there when Theodore and Hank floated up to her.

"Hi, Sky!" Hank said.

"Hey guys," Skylar said, "what's up?"

"We were on our way to the beach to look for starfish," Theodore said. "Do you want to come with us?"

Skylar shook her head. "No thanks. I'm gonna clean up the stuff in my cave."

Theodore and Hank's eyes lit up. "Can we come with you?" They asked excitedly.

"We can look for starfish later," Theodore added.

"Yeah!" Hank said. "We want to see more of your treasures! I liked exploring your cave last time."

Skylar thought about it for a bit. "Well..."

Theodore and Hank gave Skylar a puppy dog eyes look that would melt the hearts of even the toughest of tugs. "PLEASE!"

Skylar looked at them for a bit. Though she wanted to spend this time alone, she caved and surrendered to the puppy eyes. "Fine."

* * *

Theodore rummaged through some boxes and then gasped as he held up a familiar looking object. "Hey! It's the wind spinner that Scally gave me!" Hank quickly rushed over. "Oh, yeah! I remember that! It made you seasick by looking at it, right?"

"Yeah," Theodore said, feeling a little queasy from the memories that were starting to surface. He put it down and kept looking.

"You have a lot of stuff here Sky," Hank commented as he gazed around the room.

Skylar smiled and continued cleaning. "Lots of this stuff is from the many adventures I've had. Some long before I came here."

Hank floated over to her and saw that Sky was cleaning off what appeared to be an old, rusty anchor. Its edges were chipped and a few barnacles had made their home on the side of it. "Is that anchor from a pirate ship!"

Skylar chuckled. "No, but I did find this washed ashore, once. I think it came from a shipwreck. It's pretty old."

Theodore floated over. "Let me see!" His eyes widened as he looked at the anchor. "Wow!"

Skylar smiled at the two young thugs. Even though she wanted to spend this time alone, she was happy that she had let the two tugs join her. The rest of the afternoon was a treasure hunt for the two tugs. While Skylar cleaned, the tugs browsed through her treasures, their eyes filled with wonder and excitement. Skylar did her best to get the cave cleaned up but was interrupted every two seconds to answer a question from the curious tugs. She didn't mind answering their questions. Memories surfaced as she told the tugs were her treasures came from. Some, like the fishing net from India, were gifts that were given to her by boats she met on her journies. Other treasures were from shorelines, beaches, caves or other places that Skylar had explored. It was a bittersweet feeling to be reminded of the many friends she had met on her travels, but it was good to know that she had new friends here.

Hank watched as Skylar set down a now clean conch shell next to a megaphone-shaped emergency whistle. "Hey, isn't that Foducks whistle? The one that Scally gave him?"

Theodore came over and inspected it. "It is." He looked at Skylar, confused. "I thought you had told him that he should throw it away?"

"I did," Skylar said.

"So why is it here?" Theodore said.

"Because." She said.

"Because why?" Theodore prompted.

"Just cause," Skylar said it like it was obvious.

"Could it be because you _like_ him?" Hank hinted.

Skylar froze.

A mischevious smile formed on Hank's face. "So you _do_ like him!"

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "You like Foduck?"

"I knew that there was something going on with you two!" Hank said. "Every time you are on patrol, you can't stop smiling or laughing."

"Hank," Skylar said quickly. "Foduck and I are just friends. _That's it._ "

"Foduck and Skylar, swimming in the sea!" Hank started to sing. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Hank and Theodore both giggled, but Skylar turned and faced the other direction making sure that the teasing tugs couldn't see her blushing with embarrassment. The two tugs laughed and kept singing, their voices echoing off of the cave walls. Skylar murmured a groan.

Theodore stopped singing and gave Skylar a hug. "Don't worry," he said. "we won't tell anyone you like Foduck."

"Yeah," Hank said, giving Skylar a hug, too, "your secret is safe with us."

A small smile formed on Skylar's lips. "Thanks, you guys." She said softly and thought to herself, _I guess it's official now. I know it. Hank knows it. Theodore knows it._

 _I like Foduck._

She frowned a little.

 _But does he know it?_


	21. The Accident

It was a beautiful day at the Big Harbor. The sun shone over the true blue sea, glistening like little diamonds dancing in the water. Everybody at the Harbor was going about their day doing their assigned tasks while Skylar and Hank were playing hide and go seek near the beach.

Hank giggled as he got ready to count. "1. 2. 3. 4…

"...28.29.30! Ready or not, here I come!"

Hank searched for Skylar near the beach. He looked high and he looked low. He even tried looking in the water for her, even though he knew that he was being silly. Tugs don't swim underwater. He frowned as he stared out at the ocean. Where was Skylar hiding?

A smile chuckle caught his attention. He whirled around and scoured the area. There was nothing but the beach behind him and a few rocks. Squinting, he searched harder for the hiding police tug. It took a few minutes but he saw her bumper peeking out from behind a series of tall rocks.

Like a lion stalking his prey, Hank slowly crept up to the rocks. He then burst in front of her and shouted, "I found you!"

Skylar smiled and chuckled, "Heh, heh, good job Honk."

Hank giggled. "Thanks, Sky."

The two tugs kept playing until the sun started to set. The tugs watched as the sky painted a variety of pink and purple hues across like brushstrokes. Hank snuggled close to Sky as they continued watching. He liked being around her. She was like the older sister he never had. That is if tugs could even have brothers or sisters. She was so smart and strong and so brave. He hoped that one day he would be as smart, strong, and brave as she was.

That night, as the tugs were all sleeping at their docks, Hank found himself tossing and turning unable to get a good nights rest. He opened his eyes and, being very careful to not wake the other tugs, quietly slipped out from his dock and towards Skylar's. He cautiously approached her and whispered, "Skylar?"

Her eyes opened and she let out a giant yawn. "What's wrong kiddo?"

"I can't sleep," he said, "can I stay with you at your dock until I can?"

Skylar smiled gently and said softly, "Of course you can." She scooched over so that Hank could fit. He snuggled next to her and gently laid his head against her side. She wrapped her towline around him like a comforting arm of protection. She closed her eyes and hummed a little lullaby.

Hank's eyelids grew heavy as the lullaby's tune gently rocked him to sleep. Skylar was the best! So kind and caring! So strong and brave! He loved her so much and he was so happy that she came here. Today felt like a perfect ending for a perfect day for Hank. And tomorrow would be just as perfect. Maybe even more perfect!

But the next morning had something else in mind for Hank…

* * *

The cargo ship was large and heavy, full of cargo that needed to be unloaded and shipped off to the different stores in the Big Harbor's city. Skylar was assigned to help Theodore and Hank dock the cargo boat at its dock. The two tugs tow ropes strained against the ship's weight as they struggled to bring the ship into the harbor.

"Common boys," Skylar said as she pushed from the back, "you can do it!"

The two tugs blew their horns in response. They pulled and tugged the heavy ship towards its dock. Then they stopped and before Skylar could say anything she was interrupted by a cry for help from Digby. "Looks like ol' Digby's got his cable stuck on something. Again." She turned towards the other tugs. "Stay here and wait for me to get back." The two tugs nodded and Skylar hurried off to help the cable ship.

Theodore chatted with the cargo ship while Hank sighed a bored-sounding sigh. His eyes wandered around the harbor. It felt like hours had passed by. Has Skylar finished helping Digby yet? he thought impatiently. He really wanted to finish work and play with Skylar. He had planned a scavenger hunt at the beach. As he kept looking around he eyes fell onto something floating in the water. It was small and shiny. His eyes followed it as it gently floated near the dock were Theodore and Hank were supposed to dock the cargo ship.

Without thinking too much about it, Hank undid his towrope and followed the floating shiny thing. He squeezed himself between the ship and the dock and scurried after the object. Finally, he caught it and held up his prize. It was a small piece of driftwood with some shiny orange moss growing on it. It was shaped a little like a police officer's badge, kind of like the one on Skylar's hat. He grinned. He started to turn around, excited to show Skylar what he found. He then floated a few inches and then stopped suddenly. In his haste to follow the object, his towrope was not properly reeled in and therefore had gotten itself tangled on one of the dock's masts. Hank struggled to free himself but was only making the knot worse. His panic turned into fear as he heard the whistle of Theodore's horn and the cargo ship slowly inched towards him. He panicked and blew his whistle as loud as he could. "Wait! Stop! I'm stuck!" The harbor was very noisy that day and Hank's cries fell on deaf ears. Frozen with fear he looked on with horror as the ship drew closer and closer threatening to crush him against the dock. He kept blowing his emergency whistle as loud as he could. He hoped that someone would hear him! The knot wasn't coming loose! And the ship was coming closer!

Suddenly he felt the know come undone. Before he could process what was happening he felt something large shove him out of the space between him and the dock. He shot out like a rocket and then skittered to a stop. He heard a horrible crunching sound and then something that sounded like—

It was a scream. A horrible, agonizing scream.

Hank whirled around and his eyes widened in horror.

"No…

"No…

"NO!

He screamed in horror.

"SKYLAR!"


End file.
